Just Call My Name
by UnderTaleI dunno
Summary: Frisk should be here by now. She's usually here by this time, so I wonder what's keeping her. Unless... It's not Frisk. . . Making her decision, Frisk has chosen to begin anew, taking everything back to the start. But much like the last timeline, the brave and young Frisk, is going to face indescribable challenges, and painful remembrance. (Eventual Frans) *SEQUEL to I'll Be There
1. Chapter 1: Back to Square One

Chapter 1: Back to Square One

I ran fast, almost tripping over my feet a few times as I ran like my life depended on it. Which, it did.

My father's drunken shouts made their way through the night air, "FRISK! YOU FUCKED UP MY SUIT, AND YOU NEED TO FIX IT!"

I could hear my mother rush out to guide my father back inside, only hearing a few words, "Aaron, please, she's just a child! She didn't mean it!"

I heard the sound of fist meeting flesh, looking back briefly to see my mother cowering before my father, who was ruining his pristine reputation with this scene, "So hitting me in the face with a pan and giving me a bloody nose was an accident? Trust me, that little... FRISK, GET BACK HERE, NOW!"

I ran faster, rushing into a bus's doors just as they were about to close.

I quickly found a seat near the back, looking out the window as my father ran after the bus, throwing his bottle of vodka to the ground in anger.

I faced the front of the bus, curling up in my seat as tears pricked at my eyes, threatening to spill over.

I didn't mean for this to happen.

I just- He made me so _angry_. I forgot I even had the pan in my hand; I didn't mean to hit him so hard. I didn't mean to knock him out, or get his blood on his suit, or even run. I just got so angry at him; he scared me and my mom when he woke up and immediately lunged for me. If he just wouldn't get so drunk, then maybe things would be okay.

I lay my head on the bus window, ignoring my aching throat and trying to swallow with difficulty.

Eventually, I drifted into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

"Excuse me, young lady? I'm real sorry, but this is the last stop of the night."

I woke to see the elderly bus driver shaking me awake, and I looked around, finding that we were at the base of Mt. Ebott. I carefully got up, heading to the front of the bus. Once the bus driver had taken his seat and opened the doors, I mouthed a 'Thank you', and gave a polite smile.

I watched as the bus drove off, leaving me alone and stranded. I looked up at Mt. Ebott, the mountain that I had heard so much about in legends. The mountain that supposedly holds all of Monster kind inside with a powerful barrier that was created by the seven powerful Mages. Those who climb the mountain, never return.

Looking up at the mountain that loomed ominously in the darkness, I made my decision.

I would climb it.

But as I climbed, I felt more and more exhausted, my throat making it harder to breathe.

I felt on the verge of passing out when I came across an interesting discovery.

Beside a well-worn path, was the mouth to what seemed to be a bottomless abyss. After hearing the legends for so long, I instantly knew that this must be the chasm that supposedly led the the Underground, where Monsters were kept separate from all of Human kind.

Slowly, I approached the opening, getting dangerously close to the edge, and peering in.

No light penetrated the darkness below, which meant that this chasm was dangerously deep. I took notice of the vines and greenery growing wildly around and into the chasm, and how this path was pretty well worn down, meaning that people came up here frequently.

After a moment longer, I turned to leave, feeling uneasy by being so close to this deep abyss. But as I turned around, I saw a tall figure, standing in the darkness.

Fear clutched at my heart like a feral cat, as the figure called out to me in a sing-song voice, "Oh Frisk, father dearest wants to have a word with you."

I took a half step back, shaking my head vigorously as my breathing quickly picked up.

 _How'd he get here so fast?!_

My father took a few steps forward, only four feet from me, "Oh my darling daughter, I won't hurt you..." He lunged forward, grabbing my long hair in his hand, dangling me over the abyss. As a scream bubbled up in my throat, my father gave malicious laugh, "No my dear daughter, I won't hurt you. I'll only ensure that you will never walk this earth again."

I clawed my father's arm, digging my nails into his skin as deeply as I could to try and prevent my fall, trying to get to the refuge of solid ground. But I only succeeded in angering my father further, his hand unfurling from my hair as he released me.

I couldn't seem to breathe as I fell, feeling nothing but air all around me.

As I looked up, I saw my father spit phlegm into the chasm, and turn to leave.

Hot tears escaped from my eyes as I realized that my life was soon coming to a close.

Eyes tightly shut, I waited for my fate.

* * *

I woke up gasping, digging my nails into the soil beneath me.

Checking over body for any injuries, I found that I was in one piece, with just a few scratches here and there. After letting out a sigh of relief, I carefully stood up, looking around to see where I had landed.

I was standing in a bed of buttercups in the center of my location, finding marble pillars around the corners of the room, and realizing that I had fallen into the Underground. I craned my neck backwards, looking up at the chasm I had fallen in, finding beams of light coming down, revealing particles floating in the air. I found that there were bottle green vines towards the sides of the earthy chasm walls, the ends of the vines being split and stringy, showing that they had been snapped.

Realizing that the vines had broken my fall and that I was still very much alive, I decided to start walking, ready to find a temporary shelter.

As I made my way through a doorway, I found another room, but in this one, there was a small yellow flower, much like a buttercup.

Thinking it was a normal flower, I decided to just walk past it and continued onward.

I froze when I heard a voice call out to me, "Wait friend, I want to talk to ya for a moment!"

I slowly turned around to find that the flower actually had a face, and was looking directly at me. I took a small step towards the flower, not wanting to get too close to it.

The yellow flower smiled at me, "Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" Flowey spoke fast, making it a bit hard for me to understand what he was saying, but I got a majority of what he had to explain to me. Flowey gave me a honeyed smile, "Here in the Underground, we have little white things called friendliness pellets! Here, try running into one!"

Not trusting this flower, I did the opposite of what he said, suspicious of his smiles and words.

The flower's smile fell a bit, but remained, "Hey, buddy, you missed. Let's try again!" I did the same as last time, earning an angry frown from Flowey, "Okay kid, I'm just going to get this over with!" I froze as the 'friendliness pellets' surrounded me, the flower's face distorting into something from a nightmare, "In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED. DIE."

As the pellets began to close in on me, I instinctively took a step back, only realizing my mistake as the pellets hit me. I quickly closed my eyes, ready for the pain to kick in... but it didn't?

I slowly opened my eyes, finding that Flowey was gone, and I was left alone. Except... I wasn't. When I felt a large hand on my shoulder, I instantly flinched, my heart pounding.

A voice that was as comforting as a hug reached my ears, "Oh, my dear child, there's no need to fear. That wretched flower is gone now, you're safe."

I turned around, looking up to a large goat woman with deep brown eyes, pure white fur, and a reassuring smile. I gave the monster a weak smile in return, hesitant to take the hand she had extended, but felt as if I could trust her.

* * *

? ? ?'s Point of View:

Frisk should be here by now.

She usually gets here around this time, so I wonder what's keeping her.

Unless...

It's not Frisk.

I can only hope that our sweet and caring girl is in charge this run.

* * *

Frisk's Point of View:

"Okay, Frisk, this will be your very own room, okay? Now- - Is something burning? Oh my. I'm sorry my child, I must leave you for now," Toriel quickly told me as she hurried off through the hallway.

Stepping into the room Toriel had gestured to, I smiled; Toriel obviously must have children, or else there wouldn't be so many kids toys or drawings.

I crossed over to the wardrobe, gently pulling a door open and looking inside. In the wardrobe, there were a multitude of striped sweaters and brown shorts. I reaching inside, pulling out the largest outfit, hoping it would fit.

As I pulled the sweater on, I found that it was, indeed, big enough. In fact, the sweater was two sizes too big. I liked the bagginess of the sweater though, so I only got a smaller pair of shorts to put on. As I got ready to hop into bed for a nap, I noticed a mirror sitting in the corner.

I crossed over to the mirror, facing my reflection.

My long, dark auburn hair was an absolute mess, knots tangled within it. My skin was quite pale, the yellowing bruises on my jaw from a few days ago evident, and the bags under my amber eyes looked so very dark. But the bags under my eyes were nothing compared to the darkening bruises around my throat. In an attempt to hide the bruises, I pulled the neck of the sweater up a bit more and moved my hair around my shoulders, before going back to studying my reflection. I noticed that my lips were raw from being chewed on so much, and that I looked a lot smaller than I should be at my age. Then my eyes went to my legs and ankles, which were covered in cuts and bruises. I grimaced, noticing the bruises around my ankles.

I left the mirror to itself, not interested in looking at my reflection any longer.

Climbing into the bed, my eyelids suddenly felt incredibly heavy, and laying down felt like absolute heaven.

With no trouble, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Okay, it's been a month, so, here ya go!**

 **For _Just Call My Name_ , I plan on having an actual schedule this time, so you guys don't have to wait and wonder when I'll update. **

**And the story might start off a little slow, or a little fast, but I haven't written anything in a few weeks, so I'm getting back into the routine.**

 **I have so many ideas for this story though, and I can't wait to share them with you!**

 **Until Next Time, Lovelies~**


	2. Chapter 2: Encounter

Chapter 2: Encounter 

When I woke up from my sleep, I shook my head slightly to try and get the disturbing dream out of my head.

In my dream, I was older, maybe three or four years older, and I had a sister. Long story short, the impossible happened and my sister was murdered or something, and it just wasn't the best thing I could have dreamed of.

Stretching as I got out of bed, I made my way into the hallway and to the living area, where Toriel was reading.

I sat on the floor near the fire place, bringing out my makeshift white-board, which was just a blank piece of paper inside a lamination sheet, which I wrote on with a dry-erase marker. I slowly wrote down what I wanted to say, trying to make my handwriting presentable, _Toriel, I have a question. When can I see the rest of the Underground?_

Toriel scanned over what I had written, frowning once she finished. She spoke a bit slowly, as if contemplating what to say, "My child, it is too dangerous for you to try and get home. The king of the Underground... is not a very nice man. It would be best if you just stay with me."

I erased what I had written so I could give my response, _Toriel, I don't want to go home. I just want to see more of the Underground._

Toriel read what I had written, her mouth opening slightly and eyes widening, "You... don't want to go home? My child, why-ever not? Every other child I have encountered wanted desperately to leave. Why not you?"

I began to chew on my lips, trying to figure out what I wanted to respond with. Eventually, I just shrugged, _I like you a lot better._

Toriel got a bit teary-eyed, giving me a wide smile, "That's so sweet of you, Frisk. Okay. If you want to explore more, you'll have to call and check in with me every once in a while. There's someone I know very well in Snowdin, who should take good care of you. He'll be able to speak into the phone for you, since you can't seem to speak yourself. Okay, my child?"

I frowned, writing quickly and sloppily, _Won't you be coming with?_

Toriel shook her head, giving me a small smile, "No, Frisk, I won't be coming with. You see, not a lot of people know that I'm... well, me. They all think I've disappeared, and honestly, I think it should stay that way." Toriel looked lost in thought for a moment, before giving a shake of her head and standing up, "Okay my child, let's get you all packed up! I'll tend to your provisions and your cell phone, while you grab anything you think you will need. Okay?"

I nodded, before making my way to the room I had slept in.

As I entered the room though, I realized that I didn't have any items of mine to take. Scanning the room, I found a leather satchel, which looked like it would be useful to carry anything I came across.

Going out into the hallway, Toriel walked up and grabbed my hand, a pie in her other hand. Toriel led me down to the basement, through long, winding hallways. When we came across the door to the rest of the Underground, Toriel set the pie in my inventory, kneeling down to be face to face with me.

Tears shimmered in Toriel's eyes, but she seemed genuinely happy, "Okay my child, make absolutely sure that you find a way to contact me by the end of this day, and inform me of when you'll next contact me. And when you are done exploring, be sure to visit me lots." Toriel wrapped her arms around me, engulfing me in a warm hug, "Be safe, okay my child?"

I nodded vigorously, tearing up a bit myself, before turning, and entering the rest of the Underground.

.

.

.

My first step into the Underground, was an icy one.

I shivered as I stepped out into a snowy, frigid forest, regretting the choice of shorts.

Making my way down the path and through the forest, I decided to make the best of my situation, and have a bit of fun. While walking, I blew my breath out to see the condensation work it's magic, and pretended to be a dragon. As I continued to walk, I found a heavy branch in the middle of the path, and managed to pick one end up, drawing designs into the snow with the other end. As I tried my best to make what should have been a snowflake, I giggled, scaring myself into silence.

I continued on down the path, having dropped the branch so I could get to warmth as quickly as I could. Soon after dropping the branch though, I heard it snap, the sound echoing eerily throughout the forest.

Looking back, I saw no one, but the branch was very clearly snapped in half.

I quickened my pace, quickly crossing over what seemed to be a bridge of some sort, and past an oddly shaped lamp. As I continued onward, I found something strange; something that the flower had mentioned, that related to my soul and determination. I reached a hand out to what I learned to be a save point, saving my progress. Kind of like a game, I guess.

Instead of going straight, I took a small detour to the left, wanting to see every bit of the Underground.

I soon found a river, and what seemed to be a fishing pole stuck into the ground.

As I went over to the edge of the river bank, a deep voice called out from behind me, "hey, kid- -"

I jumped violently, not expecting the voice behind me, and tumbled into the icy water below.

Kicking my legs and swinging my arms, I broke the surface of the water, gasping as I felt the sensation of needles stabbing into me.

Almost instantly though, someone grabbed onto the back of my sweater, pulling me from the water and back onto land.

I shuddered violently as I turned to look at the person who had both caused me to fall into the river, and who saved me.

Looking at the person, I found the concerned skull of a skeleton, who was taking his jacket off to put around me. The same deep voice that had scared me, came from the concerned skeleton, "shit, i'm so sorry about that kiddo. here, we need to get you warmed up."

The skeleton gently picked me up in his arms, walking off the path.

I felt a weird falling sensation in my stomach, and suddenly, we were in what looked to be a restaurant.

The skeleton made his way to the front of the restaurant, "heya, grillbs, the kid needs some serious warming up. think ya could do me a solid and warm them up for me?"

I looked up over the bar counter, to see a flame monster, staring back at me with concern, but also with relief. The flame monster motioned for the skeleton to join him behind the bar, setting the glass he had been cleaning down.

The flame monster sat down on the floor, and the skeleton gently set me in his lap. Sitting with the flame monster, I warmed up almost instantaneously, my shivering coming to a stop.

I climbed out of the flame monster's lap, turning to face him. There was just something about him... I got my makeshift whiteboard from my inventory, writing out my question, _You look really familiar, almost like I've met you before. My name is Frisk. What's your name?_

The flame monster read my writing, quiet. After a moment, the flame monster gave me a small smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Frisk. My name is Grillby."

I flinched as a hand took it's place on my shoulder, and I heard the deep voice of the skeleton, "kid, i'm real sorry for scaring ya so badly. i'm sans. and you just said your name was frisk, right?"

I nodded, smiling up at the skeleton. For someone who scared me half to death, and was a skeleton, he was really nice.

Sans smiled back, "well, frisk, what's a kid like you doin' down here in the Underground? you seem kinda young to be on your own.

I wrote back my response quickly, _I'm not that young, I'm fifteen. And I'm exploring. I live here._

Sans read what I had written, and chuckled, "fifteen? that's pretty young, kid. where're your parents?"

I frowned, _That's not really young! I'm a freshman in high school!_

Sans shrugged, still smiling, "seems pretty young to me, kiddo. anyways, ya didn't answer the question. where're your parents?"

I bit my lip, contemplating on what to write. Eventually, I wrote a simple response, _Don't have any._

The skeleton and flame monster seemed to frown when they read what I wrote.

Grillby spoke softly, "You must have someone to take care of you. Are they up on the surface? Are you trying to get back home?"

I shook my head vigorously, writing quickly and standing up, _I don't want to go back home. I'm staying down here. And the only person to take care of me is Toriel, and she lives in the ruins._

Once the pair had read what I'd written, I grabbed my whiteboard and made my way out of the restaurant, walking fast.

It wasn't long before a certain skeleton appeared by my side, "kid, you can't just wander around, and you certainly can't just stay down here. it's too dangerous for humans down here. just come stay with me for the night, and then we can get ya outta here."

I walked over to a tree so I could use the hard surface, writing as much as I could onto one side, _I don't care. It's better down here than up there. Did you know the orphanage I lived in was so horrible, that kids would kill themselves just so they wouldn't have to live there anymore? Every kid had to sleep down in the basement, with the door locked every night so we couldn't get out. They had buckets lining the walls to use for a restroom. And the older kids were so mean, that if you needed to use the bucket, they would hold you down and... everyone would rather wet the bed than get up with the older kids lurking._

I shoved the makeshift whiteboard into Sans' face, waiting for him to start reading.

As soon as he started reading, I took a few slow steps back, before bolting.

* * *

Sans' Point of View:

I took the laminated paper that the kid had written on, my frown deepening as I read on.

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes tiredly, "look, kid, i'm sorry about the whole living situation thing, but you can't stay down here. if you run into undyne, it's her job to-"

I stopped talking, realizing that the kid had fled.

I frowned, beginning to follow their footprints, "they're gonna get themselves killed..."

Bringing my cell out, I dialed Alphys' number, waiting for her to answer. When I heard the click of her answering, I began to talk, "heya doc, look, I've got a quick question. there's a kid i'm lookin' for, and i was wondering if you could use the cameras to find 'em?"

"thanks alphys, i owe ya one," I hung the phone up, getting ready to teleport.

But as I went to take my shortcut, the world became still, and started to fade into darkness.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I followed the kid, trying to get them to stay with me and Paps since the Underground wasn't the safest for a human. And as the kid shoved their makeshift whiteboard into my face, I froze, realizing that this was the second time that this had happened.

Looking up from the writing, I watched as the kid had gotten just out of my sight, making their way to Waterfall.

Hoping to catch the kid before they got too far, I took a shortcut, arriving at my telescope. This way, I'd at least be able to wait for the kid, and interfere before they got too far.

As time passed though, the world faded into darkness twice more, until the kid finally came into view.

I took my place by the kid, "heya kiddo, long time no see. now, i wanna talk to ya about- - -"

The kid just continued on their way, refusing to acknowledge me.

I followed them, not wanting them to get hurt, "look, kid, it's not safe for ya down here. you've met paps by now, yeah? well how do you think he'd feel if you didn't come back from your little exploration?"

Frisk just continued on, not even batting an eye as they made their way through Waterfall.

"kid, c'mon," I went to put my hand on the kid's shoulder, "the least you can do is- - -" I was cut off when I put my hand on their shoulder, and the kid fell to their knees, covering their neck and head.

"...kid?"

* * *

Frisk's Point of View:

When a hand came down a bit roughly on my shoulder, I instinctively fell to my knees, covering my head and neck, waiting for the blows to fall. My breath came out shaky and uneven, icy fear in my stomach.

After a moment, Sans' deep voice reached my ears, "...kid?"

I slowly got up, my cheeks burning from embarrassment, and I continued walking, my eyes on the echo flowers and the glowing waters.

Sans began to walk with me, quiet. After a moment, his voice came out softly, "kid, the way you keep flinching when someone touches you, the way you sometimes jump when spoken to, that thing that just happened a moment ago? it makes me think that wherever you came from... you weren't treated very well there."

I turned to Sans, holding my hand out for my makeshift whiteboard. Once I had my whiteboard back, I uncapped my marker, _Look Sans, I just want to see the Underground and get to know people better. Can I do that? Please? If it makes you feel better, I'll call you if I need help._

Sans frowned slightly, before sighing and putting a smile back on his face, "okay kiddo, whatever you say. just... be careful. no one down here has seen a human die, and i'm sure no one wants to."

Sans gave me a small wave as he began to walk off, taking whatever shortcuts he had.

I continued through Waterfall pretty quickly, not dying once as I finished my little journey through the beautiful wetlands.

When I was about to enter Hotland though... well, that was where the problem was.

"FUHUHUHU! Look out Human, here I come!"

* * *

 **Sooo, I meant to post yesterday, and I am so sorry for the late update!**

 **My new posting schedule will be every Sunday, generally around 2:00 or 3:00 PM.**

 **Anyways, I don't have much else to say other than... enjoy!**

 **Until Next Time~**


	3. Chapter 3: Flash from the Past

Chapter 3: Flash from the Past

I died to Undyne five times before I was able to figure out her patterns and how to spare her, while also surviving.

After my encounters with Undyne, I had come across Alphys and Mettaton, who, instead of trying to kill me, surprisingly became quick friends with me.

At the moment, we were sitting in Alphys' lab, watching Mettaton re-enact a scene from the Titanic, where he tried to be both Jack and Rose.

Mettaton put a dramatic hand to his forehead, "I'll never let go Jack, I'll never let go!" Then Mettaton looked down at the 'script' again, and completely forgot the acting, "WHAT?! She says she'll never let go, and yet the next action is letting go of Jack's hand, and letting his body sink to the bottom of the Atlantic! This is— I can't believe what the director— The least Rose could have done— Darling, if you'll excuse me, I need to do a swan dive into the lava outside."

A snort escaped from me, which then turned into giggling, which then turned into full on laughter. I laughed so hard, that I threw my head back and held my sides to keep from splitting in half.

Once my laughter had died down, I looked to Alphys and Mettaton, waiting for whatever else they had in store.

But I was only met with horrified expressions.

Mettaton crossed over to me, moving my hair aside and moving the fabric of sweater that was covering my neck, "Darling, who on earth did this to you?"

I flinched as Mettaton's fingers just barely grazed my throat, where the bruise was now a deep blue and purple, the outer edges of the bruise yellowing. I shrugged, looking anywhere but Mettaton and Alphys.

Alphys came over to me, a white cream dipped onto her fingers, "Here, this should help with the b-bruising."

I hesitantly brought the neck of the sweater down more, tilting my head up so Alphys could apply the cream, trying not to flinch as she went over the bruise with it.

Once Alphys was done applying the cream, I looked to both her and Mettaton, before breaking down into tears. Mettaton and Alphys put their arms around me, trying their best to bring me comfort, but I only cried harder, gasping for breath as I sobbed.

Alphys pulled away, bringing her phone out and dialing a number, "Sans? F-Frisk is— Well, we're trying to comfort her, but she just can't seem to stop crying, and I'm w-worried that she'll begin to hyperventilate and won't stop. D-Do you think you could help?"

One moment Mettaton's hugging me, and the next, Sans' cool, bony fingers were pushing my hair out of my face.

As soon as he moved my hair, his gaze landed on my neck, and he turned to Alphys, "jesus doc, what the hell happened here?"

Alphys had a grim expression on her face, "T-That's what Mettaton and I were trying to f-figure out. But then she just b-burst into tears."

Sans grimaced as he looked at my neck once more, before turning his attention to calming me, "frisk, hey kiddo, look, you're okay. i'm sorry you're hurting so much, and i know you must be having a hard time. but look, you've met a lot of people who are here and ready to support you, even if we haven't known you for long. so c'mon kiddo, calm down for me?"

I took a few shaky breaths, trembling from the effort, but managing to calm down. I gave Sans a weak smile as I looked up at him.

The skeleton grinned, "there ya go. see, that wasn't so hard." Sans picked me up bridal style, allowing me to wrap my arms around his neck as he turned to the other two Monsters, "i'm gonna take the kid home for today. i'll tell ya how she's doin' in a bit, okay?"

I buried my face into Sans' jacket, trying to hide my tears and embarrassment.

The falling sensation in my stomach appeared again, before quickly leaving.

Sans' deep voice rumbled in my ears, "okay kiddo, we're at the house now."

I looked up as Sans set me onto the couch, noticing Papyrus in the kitchen, cooking.

Sans looked me over, noting any bruises or injuries, "do you wanna talk, kiddo?"

I began to shake my head, before stopping. I went to get my makeshift whiteboard out, grabbing the marker as well, when Sans put a bony hand on mine to stop me.

Looking over to Sans, I met his gaze, "kid, i mean actually talk. we both know that your vocal cords work, so out with it bud."

I hesitantly set my board and marker down, clearing my throat. I opened my mouth slightly, before closing it again. I tried again, opening my mouth to speak, but unable to bring myself to. Tears of frustration pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I opened my mouth again, trying to force some sort of sound out.

The skeleton frowned, "kid, what's wrong?"

The tears of frustration trailed down my cheeks, and I picked up my marker, writing furiously, _I'm trying to talk, but I can't bring myself to. I haven't actually spoken in years. I learned quickly that speaking meant-_ I stopped writing, freezing as I realized that I almost told the skeleton about what my father would do.

Sans' frown deepened, before he sighed and got up, "okay kid, i'll leave you be for now. but i want to talk to ya some tonight, okay?" After getting a nod from me, the skeleton placed his usual carefree grin on his face, "okay. now, if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go 'help' my brother with dinner."

I wiped my tears and got up from the couch, joining Sans and Papyrus in the kitchen. I tapped Papyrus on the arm, getting his attention and showing him my makeshift whiteboard, _Can_ _I help with dinner?_

Papyrus beamed as soon as he read what I had written, "Of course Human Frisk! Here Human, you can melt the butter and cream in this pan, while I cook the pasta!"

I did as I was told, melting the butter and cream that he had put into the pan, making sure it was completely melted. I went over to the recipe instead of bothering Papyrus, whisking in Parmesan and seasoning with salt and pepper.

As soon as the sauce was done, Papyrus added the cooked pasta and stirred everything together, beaming, "And that, Little Human Chef, is how you make Fettuccine Alfredo!"

I smiled, getting some plates from the cupboard Papyrus had gestured to, while Papyrus himself got the silverware.

As I reached up to get the plates, I froze, my breathing picking up as everything happened in slow motion.

.

 _I was getting the plates for dinner, working quick since my father was to be home at any minute. As I reached up to get the plates, a hand grabbed me by my hair, pulling me back and throwing me to the ground. I recoiled from the figure towering over me, scrambling to get away._

 _"What have I always told you, Frisk? Have dinner ready and served by the time I get here!" My father sent a kick into my stomach, continuing on, "I work long, hard days to keep you fed and happy, and this is the thanks I get?" Another kick was sent towards my ribs, "All I ask of you is to clean the house, cook my food, and be a quiet and respectable daughter."_

 _I cowered on the floor, waiting for yet another kick, sighing in relief when no kick came my way._

 _Instead, my father grabbed me by my hair again, pulling me to my feet, "Now, get dinner served, and get me when you're ready to sit and have a quiet dinner with your family."_

 _._

"Human?"

"kid?"

I jolted back to reality, dropping the plates that I had grabbed, hearing the sound of shattering glass on the kitchen tiles.

Dropping to my knees, I quickly began picking up the shards of broken plates, trembling, "I— I'm so— I'm sorry, sir."

Papyrus' long arms reached down, picking me up gently and setting me on my feet, "Human, it's okay, everyone has accidents!"

Blue magic engulfed the broken shards, carrying them over to the trash. Sans came over, moving my hair out of my eyes, "kid, you're okay. you're not with... whoever you were with on the surface. okay?"

I looked up at the pair, nodding slowly. Looking away, I began to make my way back over to the couch, sitting in the middle and bringing my knees to my chest. I lay my head on my knees, staring off to the side, my gaze landing on the floor.

Sans and Papyrus joined me on the couch, each skeleton on either side of me.

Papyrus made eye contact with me, smiling and getting me to lift my head, "Human, did you realize that you had spoken?"

I slowly shook my head, smiling a little bit.

Sans chimed in, "yeah, you did. looks like you just have to do it without thinking, instead of tryin' so hard."

I shrugged, my gaze landing on the floor again.

Papyrus spoke to me, almost a bit shyly, "Could you do it again, Human? It's a lot nicer to hear you speak than read your writing. N-Not that your writing isn't nice, because it is very nice!"

I had a smile on my lips, "Um... that's oka— okay, Papyrus. My writing isn't very nice."

Sans playfully punched my arm, "there ya go kiddo, you're doin' great."

Shrugging again, I only said, "Sure."

Papyrus gave me a big hug, squeezing the life out of me, "You are doing great, Human! Accept it!"

I gave Papyrus a small smile, "Okay."

Sans got up, "okay kiddo, me and paps are gonna leave you be for the night. it seems like you've had a pretty rough day." Sans gave me a look though, meaning that he still wanted to have that talk with me.

I gave Sans and Papyrus each a small smile, "Okay. Goodnight Papyrus, goodnight Sans."

I curled up on the couch, pulling the blanket up to my chin, but wide awake.

I didn't want to sleep.

Soon though, Sans was down to speak with me. Which would keep me awake.

"heya kid," Sans sat down next to me on the couch, sighing, "time to talk."

I tightened my grip on the blanket, digging my nails into my thumbs, "Okay."

Sans moved my hair from my neck, revealing the bruise that had started to heal with the items I had eaten that day, "when did this happen?"

I went to shrug, but stopped myself, taking a small breath, "The day I came here."

Sans furrowed what would have been his eyebrows, "so within the last 24 hours... kid, who did this to you? and why?"

I dug my nails harder into my thumbs, afraid that my father would somehow hear, "I— I'm not allowed—"

Sans put a gentle hand on my leg, "kid, they can't hurt you here. it's okay to talk about it."

Tears pricked at my eyes, irritation beginning as I realized how much I had cried today, "We just met today, I barely know y—" Sans gave me a look, urging me to continue on, "... My... father, did it."

Sans tensed up, and I saw his hands tighten into fists, but other than that he showed no other signs of anger, "kid, that's... that's not okay. how many times has he done something like this."

I shrugged, unable to keep count of every incident.

Sans reworded his question, "okay, dumb question. how about... how long has he been doin' things like this."

I bit my lip, trying to think, "Um... twelve years?"

A deep inhale of breath came from the skeleton, his arms wrapping gently around me as he pulled me into his lap, hugging me, "that's... twelve years too long." Sans was silent for a moment, before breaking the silence with his deep voice, "your father's the reason why you don't want to go back to the surface. god kid, i— i'm just so sorry that you had to live with that."

My lips upturned into a wobbly smile, "Thank you, Sans. I appreciate it."

Sans sighed, "kid, i know you probably don't want to talk about everything, but just know that i'm here anytime to talk."

I nodded, before climbing off of Sans' lap and sitting at the other end of the couch, "Thank you, but I think I'm ready to head to bed now."

Sans gave me a grin, "of course, can't have ya stay up and resist... _ar-rest_!"

I put a hand to my forehead, resting my head on it and hiding my smile, "That was terrible! No more puns."

Sans' grin widened, "geez kid, you don't like my puns? well, that just hurts me down to the _bone_ , 'cause i'm a _bonefied_ pun master."

I rolled my eyes, "Numbskull. Get to bed!"

Sans chuckled, "geez kid, no need to use such harsh words, i'm goin'!"

Watching Sans go up the stairs and into his room, I lay down on the couch, mimicking the deep, even breaths of sleep as closely as I could. After two hours, the clock ticking to 2:00 AM, I slipped off of the couch. I pulled my shoes on, and silently went out the front door, cringing as even the slightest of sounds was made by the opening and closing of the door.

I walked quickly and quietly, ignoring the bite of the frigid winter air, and making my way to the restaurant I had left earlier.

Pushing the door open, the heat of the establishment burst out at me, warming me instantly.

The ringing of the bell drew the attention of the flame monster behind the bar, and he turned to look at who had entered at this time of night.

Looking around, I could see why he was curious as to who was here, since the restaurant was deserted.

The flame monster's flames rose a little higher at seeing me, but then dropped substantially.

I made my way to the bar counter, hopping onto a seat. After a moment of silence, I spoke quietly, "You know something about me; something that not even I know."

Grillby went back to polishing his glass, his voice soft enough that the crackle of his flames almost drowned it out, "You can speak." After a period of silence, he spoke again, just as soft as before, "Well, little one, why do you assume that I know something that you do not?"

I bit my lip, getting a sense of trust from Grillby, like the sense of trust I got from Sans. I cleared my throat, digging my nails into my thumbs, "I'm going to sound crazy, but don't laugh." I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, "I... I have these sorts of dreams. They're unlike anything that I've ever experienced before, and they just— they seem too real and too detailed to be just that; dreams."

Grillby looked at me; studied me with little to no expression on his face.

I dug my nails into the skin around my wrists, "And I know what resets are. I realized what was happening each time I died to someone. I'd come back. And everything would reset from my last save point... For some reason, I can't shake the feeling that you know what they are too."

Looking up with scared yet hopeful eyes, I met Grillby's drained and troubled gaze.

After several moments of silence, he spoke again, setting the glass he had in his hands on the bar counter, "Your dreams... what are they like?"

Biting my lip, I explained in a quiet voice, "I remember being older, and having a little sister; Melody, I think. And everything just... It was just like what I've done since falling into the Underground, except for that little girl and... a few other details. I remember somehow getting to the Surface again, and things were good. Until they went wrong..." I looked up at the flame monster, my eyes shimmering, "They can't be dreams, but I don't understand how they could be a reality. Everything was just so vivid; I've never even been in the Underground before tonight, and I know so much about it without even having been here long."

After more silence, I took bit my lip even harder, looking down to my shoes.

I began to speak again, recalling the 'dreams' that I had experienced, "I came into the restaurant. I said, 'Hey Grillby, sorry I didn't come sooner. Alphys had some things she wanted help with.' You said I showed up, so there was no need to apologize. You put a strawberry milkshake with extra whipped cream in front of me, at this very spot. I asked for some alcohol instead. I was dying. I needed to consume the strongest thing that would give me a buzz at the least. You were the first to find out that I was dying, and wouldn't be back." I took a shaky breath, my eyes still full of tears, "Grillby, I may not remember everything, but I do remember something; if there's anything to even remember, that is. ... Grillby, I've never touched a drop of alcohol in my life, and I've never met Alphys until today.

Grillby leaned against the bar counter, seeming to be exhausted as he spoke softly, "Frisk, I don't know what you want me to say."

I blinked the tears away, "Just... tell me if they're real; if this has all happened before." I was quiet for a moment, before continuing, "There's a part of me that wants to just dismiss it all and forget about it, but then it feels like another part of me is just _screaming_ at me to keep digging; to remember."

Grillby ran a hand through his flames, before standing up straight, his voice having a little more volume, "A growing girl like you should be in bed, asleep and resting."

I frowned, speaking in a normal tone, my voice shaking as I did so, "Grillby, if you don't tell me the truth, I _will_ find someone else to tell me."

Grillby let out an exhausted sigh, "Frisk, no one here will remember anything. No one can enlighten you. I'm sorry child, I wish I could be of more help."

Crossing my arms, I looked at the flame monster, deadly serious, "'No one here will remember anything'. You remember." I closed my eyes for a moment, the images I had seen in those flashbacks vivid and heart-wrenching. My voice shook as I spoke again, "It was all real. Everything that happened... was real."

The silence in the restaurant was deadly.

* * *

"heya kid, quick question."

I turned to Sans, who had come into the kitchen as I ate the pancakes Papyrus had made before attending to his sentry duty.

Sans sat down next to me, turning his body to face me, "last night... you left. why?"

I looked Sans in the eyes, surprising him with how red and puffy my eyes were, and how tired I seemed. I bit my lip, talking quietly, "I trust you. And I trust Grillby. I thought you were asleep, so I went to him about something that's... complicated to explain."

I bit my lip harder, digging my nails into my skin as well, trying to stay awake. When I went to sleep, both the nightmares and flashbacks came. Everything seemed to flash before my eyes, as if I were actually there.

It was _appalling_.

Sans seemed concerned, placing a hand on my back as if to keep me upright, "kid, you can talk to me about anythin', but it looks like you need some sleep."

I sprang out of my chair, away from Sans, eyes wide, "No! No sleep."

Sans frowned, getting up from the kitchen table, "kid, you need to sleep. if you stay up too long, it can seriously affect your health. c'mon kid, you just said you trusted me, right?" After slowly nodding, Sans continued, "well then how about ya trust me on this?"

As Sans held out his hand for me to take, I remained still, until that little voice in my mind told me that he was right.

I took Sans' hand, following him as he dragged me upstairs, to Papyrus' room.

When I opened my mouth to protest on taking over Papyrus' bed, Sans shushed me, "kid, he'd be more than happy to let you rest in his room. hell, he'd permanently take the couch instead, just so you could sleep in a bed."

Sans watched as I climbed into bed, before heading over to leave, "i'm trustin' that you'll listen and get some rest, kid. i'll be back later; i have jobs to tend to."

As soon as Sans left, I turned onto my side, forcing myself to sleep, like him and that little voice had told me to.

.

.

.

.

.

I woke up in a cold, dark mass of nothingness.

I whirled around, looking for anything, knowing that someone would be here.

I've been here before.

A quiet, warm voice came to my ears.

"Hiya, partner. What brings you here?"

I turned to face my reflection. Er— not my reflection, but rather, another human, around my age. They looked almost exactly like me, save for the tawny brown hair and garnet eyes.

Clearing my throat, I approached the figure, "I'm guessing you?" After getting a slight nod of the head, I asked another question, "Who are you?"

I got a small smile, the human holding out their hand for me to shake.

"Chara."


	4. Chapter 4: Painful Remembrance

Chapter 4: Painful Remembrance

I looked the girl in front of me up and down, taking in her appearance.

She didn't look like she would hurt me.

But then again, appearances can be deceiving.

I grimaced as I thought of how everyone thought my father was a perfect business man, a model civilian; the perfect man. They had no idea of the threats—the beatings—he gave to his wife and only child.

Shaking my head from my thoughts, I gave Chara a small smile, shaking her hand, "Frisk."

Chara sat on the floor, legs crossed, patting the ground in front of her, "Sit. I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, and not in the usual mess of nightmares and flashbacks."

My eyes widened, heart dropping, "You've seen those?"

Chara nodded, giving my an empathetic look, "I'm sorry for invading, I know what it's like to be in a situation like that at home. As for invading though, I'm sort of... attached to you, I guess. I think when you fell, your pure determination to survive just woke me up and attached me to the most powerful being close by."

I bit my lip, digging my nails into my thumbs, "Okay, but... how much did you see?"

Chara frowned slightly, "All of it. But everything is safe with me; who am I gonna tell? I'm dead."

I smiled slightly at her words, my mind working, "If you saw everything though, that means that you've seen the flashbacks. Do you have any memory of any of those things happening? And do you know why everything is different from before?"

Chara shook her head, leaning forward, "I have no memory whatsoever of anything that happened. Those flashbacks... Okay, Grillbs remembers, right?" I nodded, signalling for her to continue, "Ask him about the timelines. I have a slight memory of what they are, but I know that Grillbs knows. Once he explains, we can piece things together from there."

I nodded, taking in everything that Chara had said, "I can do that. But do you know why everything is different from before?"

Chara shrugged, standing up, holding a hand out for me to take, "No. The only explanation that I can come up with for everything being different, is some type of reset, that just... changed things? I don't know. Look partner, I know just about as much as you. You'll have to find out more for us, okay?"

I nodded again, feeling myself begin to wake up, before asking a quick question, "Hey, Chara? Do you think we'd be able to talk to each other while I'm awake? Or will we only be able to communicate when I sleep?"

Chara shrugged once more, "Who do you think that little voice in your head was earlier when Sans was trying to get you to sleep? We should be able to communicate, but it really depends on our connection. It's kinda like cell-phones and their connection."

I smiled at her comparison, "Yeah, kinda. Okay, until next time, Chara."

Chara waved, a small smile on her face, "'Til next time, partner."

* * *

Judging by the clock on the wall, I had slept for about eight hours, making it around 5:00 PM.

I sat up from Papyrus' bed, trying to rub the grogginess from my eyes.

As soon as I was awake enough, I got up out of bed and stretched.

Once I was done stretching, I made my way out of Papyrus' room, my feet making no sound as I quickly walked to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

I locked the bathroom door behind me, starting the bath water before I began to strip from my clothes. I glanced in the mirror, before glancing away, and then whipping my head back up again.

I had cuts and bruises all over from my adventure into the Underground, and they still hadn't healed yet. Not only that, but my hair seemed as if it were a rat's nest. I looked around the cabinet shelves, searching for a hairbrush or comb of some sort. I eventually spotted the green comb up on top of the mirror and cabinets themselves.

Climbing from the toilet, to the sink counter, I reached up and took the comb in my hands, and then hopped back down.

I sat down on the toilet, beginning to work out the knots and bumps in my hair, gritting my teeth when tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I worked.

After about thirty minutes of wetting my hair and brushing out the knots, I was finally ready to hop into the still steaming bath water.

I slowly stepped into the bath, the water burning my ankles at first, but soon becoming bearable. Gently, I sank into the water, immersing most of my body into the heat.

The heat worked out the stiffness and knots in my muscles, helping me to relax.

As soon as I relaxed though, my mind was bombarded with memories and flashbacks.

.

 _"... why are you lying to me frisk?"_

 _I grabbed the other Sans' jacket from off my desk chair and threw it on, "I'm not lying, Sans. I got into a fight with-"_

 _Sans grabbed my arm and forced me to look into his eyes, "frisk, tell me the truth. you didn't just get into a fight with someone on the way home, the injuries i saw have been there longer than that. which means, whatever that session was-"_

 _I yanked my arm out of his grasp, "Sans, just back off for once! Yes, you are worried, but you are not going to meddle in my business. You're not my best friend anymore, you're a stran-"_

 _Sans' voice interrupted me, "i'm not a stranger frisk, stop saying that! we're best friends, just because pandora came along doesn't mean that i ever stopped being best friends with you. you're the one who's been pushing me away, you're the one who's becoming a stranger to me!"_

 _I threw my hands up, "Well it's not like I'm trying to do this! I'm not trying to distance myself, I'm not trying to be a stranger, I'm just trying to protect you guys! I'm just trying to support the household and other monsters because they're struggling! Who cares what happens to me, I'm not even-"_

 _Sans grabbed my hand so roughly that I let out a yelp of surprise. "I CARE. I care what happens to you Frisk, so stop saying shit like that!"_

 _._

I shook my head, clearing the memory from my mind.

Curiosity came from Chara, her voice distant, but there, "Frisk, when did that happen?"

I sank deeper into the water, looking up at the ceiling of the bathroom, "I don't know. A different reset or something."

Chara mulled this over as I stood up and grabbed a bar of soap and washcloth, ready to clean myself up.

Though I didn't get much done, since another flashback took over.

.

 _I sobbed as I pushed back on my bedroom door, trying to keep my drunken father out._

 _His voice was honeyed, "Frisk, darling, my dear daughter. Would you kindly open the door for me? I just want to have a small chat with you."_

 _I kept pushing, trying to keep my father out, ignoring his lies._

 _My mother was the one to speak this time, her shaking voice directed towards my father, "Sweetheart, how about we leave the child alone, hmm? Here, just calm down, and- -"_

 _I sobbed harder, holding back a scream as I heard the sound of fist meeting flesh, and the thuds of my mother crumbling down the stairs that led up to my room; wondering if the woman who had tried to protect me was now dead._

 _Hearing my cries, my father threw the entire force of his body at my door, breaking into my room._

 _I screamed bloody murder, making my throat burn, as I dashed across my bed and to the other side of the room, trying to put some distance between me and the towering monster before me._

 _But it was futile._

 _My father crossed over to me in three strides, grabbing the ends of my hair, pulling me up off the floor to be level with his face. Spit and alcohol flew onto my face as he screamed at me, before throwing me to the ground and taking off his belt._

 _I braced myself as he brought the leather down against my skin, leaving red welts behind._

 _Once tired with the belt, my father moved on to kicking me, and soon, just bringing his fists down as brutally as possible; my mother screaming at him to stop all the while._

 _I remained on my bedroom floor, my trembling ceasing as my vision set to a dark vignette, unconsciousness coming to me._

 _How could no one hear the cacophony of my home?_

 _._

With the flashback over, I found myself on the tiled bathroom floor, blood trickling from a cut above my eyebrow.

I touched my fingertips to the cut, finding the dark blood coated on my fingertips once I pulled them away.

Slowly sitting up, I jumped violently as I heard three knocks at the bathroom door.

A muffled voice came from the other side, "Human? Are you okay in there?"

I took a shaky breath, reminding myself that there was no way my father could get to me here. I put a small smile on my lips even though Papyrus couldn't see, "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just finishing up my bath, okay Papyrus?"

Once Papyrus was no longer concerned, I hopped back in the bath, cleaning my body and hair, and hopping back out.

I was careful not to get blood on my striped sweater and tan shorts, and looked in the mirror, finding that the cut was small compared to the amount of blood coming from it.

Sighing, I looked through the bathroom cabinet again, finding the peroxide and some q-tips.

I dipped the q-tips into the peroxide, before applying them to my cut, my face screwing up as I worked through the stinging pain.

Once peroxide didn't have much of an effect on the cut, I put the peroxide up and looked around for a bandage of some sort, finding a box of mickey mouse band-aids. And while most kids my age would want something more grown-up to use, I was perfectly content with my mickey mouse band-aid.

I giggled as I looked at my reflection, the band-aid probably being the most appealing thing on me.

After combing my hair, I left the bathroom, joining Papyrus downstairs in the kitchen.

Papyrus smiled as he saw me, "Ah, Human, welcome back from the bath room! What's this? An accessory on your forehead? So stylish! May I join you in the accessory-having?"

I gave Papyrus a small smile, "Yeah, of course you can! Here, I actually brought another down with me." Papyrus bent down, allowing me to put the band-aid on the bone above his eye, "There Papyrus, you're all set."

Papyrus scooped me up in a hug, spinning me around, "Thank you Human! Now I can be both fearsome and fashionable when we get to the Surface!"

I kept my smile on my face as Papyrus spun me around in his arms, "Yeah, of course!"

Papyrus soon set me down on a seat at the kitchen table, resuming cooking, "Okay Human, can you guess what culinary creation I am creating today?"

I looked over to the counter, and all I had to see was the boneless chicken breasts and the slices of ham to know what Papyrus was cooking, "Chicken Cordon Bleu."

Papyrus beamed, "Yes, that is precisely it! Human, how did you know?"

I shrugged, trying not to grimace as I remembered what happened when dinner was late in my house, "I guess I just cooked a lot up on the Surface."

Papyrus turned back to his cooking, "Well you must have really enjoyed it!" Papyrus soon went to cooking in silence, besides his soft humming.

As I watched Papyrus cook and hum softly, I felt the world drop from beneath me.

.

 _I snuck up on a softly singing Papyrus, who was preoccupied with reading the advanced cooking books he had recently gotten._

 _"BAH!" I jumped out at Paps, making him jump._

 _Papyrus quickly shut the cooking book, looking up at me with an orange blush brushing across his bones, "Human Frisk, hello! What are you doing home? I thought you had work today."_

 _I sat down next to Papyrus on the couch, crossing my legs, "They gave me a surprise day off. And what are you doing Paps? You shut that book pretty quickly. Any secret messages I should know about?"_

 _Papyrus got up from his seat on the couch, tucking the book in the corner of his arm, his reply coming fast, "No."_

 _I got up as well, feigning going to the kitchen, "Okay, well I'm gonna make a sandwich. Want one?"_

 _As soon as Papyrus relaxed, thinking that I was genuinely going to make a sandwich, I snatched the book from his arm, sprinting as quickly as possible from the skeleton._

 _Opening up to the page that he had been on, I found a letter, beginning to read aloud, "My dear Papyrus, I've gotten used to being happy in your presence, and I don't know what I would do without you. My father told me I would someday find someone who I wouldn't be able to handle losing, and I'm afraid that he is right."_

 _I had come to a halt through the first few words of the letter, and Papyrus had come to a halt as well, leaning against the wall next to me, trying to hide the orange tint that had furiously come across his cheek bones._

 _Papyrus held his hand out for the book and letter, "Satisfied, Human?"_

 _I gently put the book and letter into Papyrus' hand, biting my lip, "Sorry Paps, I shouldn't have snooped... Have you asked her out yet?"_

 _Papyrus gave me a small smile, "I'm getting to it?"_

 _Putting my hands on my hips, I got a stern look on my face, "Papyrus, you better ask that girl on a date the next time you go to that bookstore. Don't you know she's crazy about you?! Just read that letter again if you need more convincing!"_

 _Papyrus shut his book loudly, beginning to walk away, "Human, I appreciate your wanting to help, and I will politely say this, but it's none of your business."_

 _I grabbed Papyrus' arm, leading him back to the living room, "Paps, c'mon, just go for it! There is no doubt in my mind that- -"_

 _Uncharacteristically_ _, Papyrus' voice was not warm, but rather cold, "Well, Frisk, there is doubt in my mind. And since you're giving out advice, how about you follow your own advice for once?"_

 _I furrowed my brows, frowning, "Paps, what- -"_

 _"You love Sans," Papyrus stated, firmly. The skeleton looked me in the eye, an unnatural frown on his face as well, "You love Sans, yet you won't do anything about it. Why not, Frisk?"_

 _I looked away from the skeleton, incredibly unhappy with him, "Papyrus, he has Pandora; he does not love me, therefore I cannot do anything about it." After a moment, I looked at the skeleton again, "You can do something about it though. Tabatha loves you, and you love her. It's obvious that all that's left to do, is be with her."_

 _This time it was Papyrus' turn to look away, with enough decency to look guilty about what he had said._

 _._

I looked at the cooking skeleton in the kitchen before me, biting my lip.

Chara's voice peeked out from the corner of my mind, "That was a very different skeleton from the one we know right now. Why do you think he was like that, Frisk?"

I mumbled softly under my breath, responding to Chara, "He was obviously irritated about my invasion of his privacy." I cleared my throat, speaking to Papyrus now, "Hey Papyrus, do you know anyone named Tabatha?"

The skeleton turned, still looking cheerful, "No Human, I cannot say that I have. Why?"

I simply shrugged, "I was just wondering." As I looked around the kitchen, being my awkward self and trying to find something to concentrate on, another question popped into my mind, "Hey Papyrus, where's Sans?"

Papyrus shuddered, "Grillby's. My brother is always at that greasy bar at this time. Honestly, I do not know why he does not come home to spend time with me, his dear brother!"

I slid off of my chair, heading over to the front door, "I can go get him really quick, before supper is done." Papyrus gave me a nod as he continued cooking, and I opened the door to head out, "I'll be right back Papyrus!"

Closing the door behind me, I slipped into the icy Snowdin air, making my way to Grillby's.

Once again, I opened the restaurant door and felt a blast of warm air wash over me, warmth overtaking the cold as I stepped inside the building.

My eyes landed immediately on Sans and Grillby, who were speaking intently with one another. And as I approached the pair, I understood why they were talking to each other so intently.

"grillbs, i don't know what to do with the kid. she flinches at practically everything, and she was refusin' to sleep earlier because of what i'm assumin' was nightmares," Sans rubbed his skull, tiredly. He continued on, oblivious to my presence, "i want to help her, i really do, but i don't think i'm the one who'll be able to. i think we need to send her back to the surface. she can get better help there."

Grillby and Sans still hadn't seen me, so I took that chance to head back out into the frigid Snowdin air.

I could feel tears stingily prick at the corner of my eyes, but I don't recall when they escaped and made tracks down my cheeks.

Of course. He wanted to get rid of me already.

Chara made her presence known, trying to offer some comfort, "Frisk, I don't think he meant to get rid of you, per say, but just let you get the help and life you deserve?"

Making my way out of Snowdin and into Waterfall, I didn't stop walking until I had arrived at the hidden room behind the waterfall, which I had found earlier. Inside the small room, was a single echo-flower, and a pink tutu.

I went over to the wall near the echo-flower, and slid down it, sinking onto the ground.

I brought my knees up to my chest, and lay my head on them, looking at the echo flower.

Sighing, I let the tears escape from my eyes even more than before, "Of course he doesn't want me around. I'm too problematic. Too damaged." The echo-flower repeated my words back to me, making my chest feel heavier, "My parents didn't want me, my friends didn't want me, and now, the Monsters don't want me. No one wants me." I bit my lip, silent for a moment, before my voice broke on me, "I don't know why I stick around anymore. Things would probably be so much better without me here."

Chara's presence was there one moment, hesitating, before leaving me.

I hugged my knees tighter to my chest, "And now, not even the ghost wants me."

.

.

.

.

.

I don't know how long I had been there, but I had eventually fallen asleep, my words still repeating to me from the echo-flower.

.

 _"Frisk, come here for daddy, would you?"_

 _I stopped vacuuming the living room, quickly heading over to my father's office._

 _Entering the office, I kept my head down, and my voice quiet, "Yes, father?"_

 _My father beckoned me closer to his desk, "Come here. I want to speak with you for a moment."_

 _I did as I was told, approaching my father's desk until I was right in front of it._

 _Trying to remain still as my father got up, I bit at my lips._

 _My father took his place behind me, roughly grabbing at the ends of my hair, holding me up several feet off the floor. His voice had the appearance of being soft as he began to scold me, but I could hear the malice in it, "Frisk, dear, what have I told you about doing chores while I'm working? You are nine years old, surely you can understand what I tell you?"_

 _I wriggled to try and get my father to release my hair, my voice coming out desperate, "Father, you told me not to wait until you were off to bed, and I can't do my chores when I'm at school. I can only do them when you're worki- -"_

 _My father set me down on my feet and shoved me into his bookshelf, all air leaving my lungs as I was battered into the now broken shelves, "Do NOT talk to me like that! If I ask you something, you either say 'no sir' or 'yes sir'. Why the 'sir'? Because you are a disgrace, and will not associate yourself with me by calling me 'father'." As I lay crumbled on the carpeted floor, my father kicked me aside, "Now, get out of my sight. I do not want to see you for a week."_

 _I forced myself up off his office floor, quickly making my way out of the room and up the stairs._

 _I quietly closed my bedroom door, sinking onto my bottom, and laying down, trying not to breathe too hard as head and body ached._

 _._

I sat up, wide-eyed and breathing heavily.

Once I realized it was a dream, I remained where I was until I felt Chara's presence once more, and heard footsteps heading my way.

Sitting up, wiping the tears from my eyes, I looked up to see a skeleton that I didn't want to see at the moment.

Sans frowned, holding a hand out for me to take, "kid, running off and being gone for hours, isn't okay. you told paps that you'd be back soon, and then you disappeared. do you know how worried we were?"

I ignored Sans' extended hand, getting up without his help, and walking away.

The skeleton let out a frustrated sigh, following me back to Snowdin, "look, kid, it's not okay for you to just leave everyone worried sick like that. i don't know why you ran off, but whatever it is, is not a reason to do things like this. if you're really feelin' that upset, just come to me or grillbs, or hell, even go to paps."

I crossed my arms, digging my nails into my skin, "Nah, don't wanna burden you guys. How about I just go home instead, hm? Get the help that I need."

Sans' eyes widened, "kid, that- - i was just sayin' that it might be better if you go back to the surface; work on your ptsd, get away from that family of yours. i never meant that you were a burden, or that we would just send ya back to the wolves."

I turned on Sans, jabbing a finger at him, holding back the tears, "You don't get it! Everyone thinks he's the perfect business man, with the perfect family, who would never do anything that wasn't _perfect_! If I said anything at all, no one would believe me, and he would- -" I cut myself off before I finished my sentence, taking a breath to calm myself, "It's whatever. You want to send me back up? _Go ahead_."

Quickening my pace, I left Sans behind and made it to Snowdin in record time. Once I got to the house, I slammed the front door behind me, and went straight to the bathroom, locking myself in.

I went to the nearest corner, sitting with my knees to my chest, my hands clutching at my head.

.

 _I knocked softly on the office door, getting a 'come in' from my father._

 _Standing in the doorway, I waited until he looked up, motioning for me to come forward once he saw his plate with dinner on it._

 _On the way over, I was so focused on not looking him in the eyes, that I tripped over my own feet._

 _I sprawled forward, scraping my cheek severely on the rug and carpet, the plate full of food flying from my hands and coating his desk and paperwork._

 _Holding in my moans and whimpers, I went to get up, stopping when something held me down._

 _I turned my head, looking up at my father, his foot on the small of my back as his eyes practically ignited in fury._

 _His voice was perfectly calm and steady as he spoke, "Stand up, Frisk."_

 _I got onto my hands and knees, before pushing myself up, looking anywhere but my father._

 _My hair being the thing in his grasp once again, my father lifted me to his level, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. His voice had a slight tremor, before he hid it well, "Frisk, I gave you one simple task: bring me my dinner when it is done. Now look at the mess that you've made." My father turned my face towards his desk, before slamming me into it, "LOOK AT IT!"_

 _I winced, trying not to cry, knowing that it would only make him angrier._

 _Once he was done shoving my face in the food, he yanked on my hair, making me fall backwards onto the floor, allowing him to drag me by my hair across the floor._

 _My father tightened his hold on my hair, dragging me out of the office, turning corners sharply and not even blinking when he made me collide with the corners of the house, bent on getting to his destination within the house._

 _He dragged me to the door leading to the basement, using my hair to lift me to my feet, "You're spending a few nights in the basement. Don't make a sound, and don't expect provisions." My father leaned me forward, my body leaning over the stairs as he kept his grip tight on my hair, "Now, Frisk, what do we say?"_

 _I grit my teeth, fighting the tears when my head began to pound, as if the unholy were trying to knock down the door preventing their escape from Hell._

 _My father let go of my hair, letting me drop and collide with the stairs, "We say, 'Thank you, sir'."_

 _._

I could still feel my father's phantom fingers and hand in my hair, and I felt large, hot tears slide down my cheeks.

Taking a shaky breath, I got to my feet, and went to the bathroom cabinet.

My hands shaking, I grabbed the only blade in the bathroom.

* * *

 **I'm releasing this chapter early, because I wanted to respond to the first and only review of this story right now.**

 **So, Olivia, here we go.**

 **I just want to start off with saying, thank you. It means so much to me when I get a positive review, but when I get review saying that I've changed someone's life? Those reviews are the ones that mean _everything_ in the world to me, and keep me inspired to continue writing. **

**I also want to say that I am so incredibly sorry that you had to go through that abuse, and I wish that something so terrible never would have been inflicted upon you. No one deserves abuse, no matter the situation, and it just boils my blood to find out that someone would even think about hurting someone else in that way. Olivia, you, and every other reader, mean the absolute world to me, and you guys are what keeps me going. So hearing about you or anyone else being hurt like that? It just makes me want to— I dunno, punch someone. In the face. With legos or something. I don't know, all I know is that I automatically hate anyone who has hurt any of you guys because of how much I care about all of you.**

 **Okay, this is getting kind of long.**

 **In conclusion, Olivia, thank you so much for your kind words and for opening up and sharing your story with me (I may have cried in front of my entire family, no biggie), and I am ecstatic that you are now happy! And I want to say so much more—believe me— but I can't express in words what I want to say.**

 **And if you guys want to leave anything from deep, heartfelt reviews, to short stupid ones, that is absolutely fine with me, because I love pretty much every review that you guys leave.**

 **For now though, I will see all of you unique, gorgeous, amazing people, later.**

 **Until Next Time~**


	5. Chapter 5: Divide

Chapter 5: Divide

With shaking hands, I examined the scissors that I had found in the bathroom cabinet.

As I examined the scissors and tested the sharpness of the blade, Sans' muffled voice came from the other side of the door, making me flinch violently and cut my arm. While Sans' voice carried on, I just mumbled, "Ouch."

Sans cut himself off, trying to open the bathroom door, "frisk, what's goin' on in there? why'd ya say ouch, kid?"

I looked in the mirror, glaring at my reflection, ignoring the raised line on my wrist as dots of blood began to appear. As I glared at my reflection with even more hatred, my gaze on one key thing, my voice shook, "Why do you need to know? You want to get rid of me anyways."

Sans had had enough of being locked out, blue magic overtaking the doorknob entirely, the door opening. Sans' gaze landed on my arm, and his features darkened, "kid... what do you think you're doing."

One moment the scissors were in my hands, and the next they were in Sans' hands. Crossing my arms, I frowned, "I'm not _doing_ anything. You're the one who scared me so badly and made me flinch. Now give me the scissors back." As I reached for the scissors, Sans took a step back, making me furrow my brows, "Sans, seriously, give me the scissors."

Sans shook his head, "no can do kiddo, i can't have you hurting yourself."

A strangled noise escaped my lips as I threw my hands up in exasperation, "I wasn't going to hurt myself! I already have enough scars as it is, why in the world would I add more?!"

Sans' features lightened some as he raised his non-existent brows, gaze on my arm, "then how do you explain that cut on your arm? sure seems like it was intentional."

I sat down on the toilet seat, running a hand through my hair, before wincing and quickly retracting it from the long locks, "Like I said, I didn't know you were right outside of the bathroom door, so when you began talking, I flinched and the scissors went to my arm. Like you told Grillby, I flinch at practically everything."

A guilty look came across Sans' features, before it was gone and he simply sighed, "okay, if you want the scissors back, you're gonna have to tell me why ya want them so bad."

I dug my nails into my thumbs, feeling panicky inside, "I was just... I just wanted to... cut my hair." The panicky feeling inside intensified, and the hot and cold flushes came along with the dizziness, and the knot forming in my stomach.

Sans took notice of my quickly oncoming state, setting the scissors on the sink counter top and kneeling beside me, "hey, kid, look at me, are you okay?"

I waved a dismissive hand, trying to relax myself and control my breathing, "Fine. Just... wait."

After what felt like hours, which, in reality, was only about 30 minutes, I had managed to calm down.

Sans put a gentle hand on my back as I looked up, "hey, you okay kid?"

I nodded, taking a deep breath, "Yeah, fine. When that happens, you just have to let me ride it out. That's what I always do."

Sans frowned slightly, "kid, do you know what that was?" When I shook my head, Sans asked another question, "what happens when that happens? like, do you get panicked, or...?"

Nodding, I explained, "I just get really panicky inside, get hot and cold flushes, I get dizzy, and... yeah. It happens sometimes."

Sans sat on the bathtub edge, crossing his arms, "kid, those are called anxiety attacks. they can happen when someone thinks they're in danger, and so on."

I bit my lip, looking to the ground, "Oh."

Sans stood up, holding a hand out to me to help me stand up, "frisk, did you think you were in danger?"

Taking Sans' hand, I stood up, my voice quiet, "... I dunno. Maybe."

Sans put a gentle hand under my chin, making me look at him, his expression both sad and concerned, "why?"

Tears pricked at my eyes, and I swiped angrily at them, tired of crying, "Something that happened a while ago. It's nothing."

Sans furrowed his nonexistent brows, "if it caused you to have an anxiety attack, then it's not nothin', kid. just talk to me; you'll feel better, it's guaranteed."

I smiled slightly, before the smile disappeared. The panicky feeling rose up again, but I breathed deeply to keep it down, my voice soft, "My father said- - He- -... He told me that if I ever cut my hair, then he would use the Colombian Necktie on me."

Sans' expression didn't change, but his eyes were hesitantly curious, "a colombian what?"

I felt my heart drop, and I was sure I had paled immensely, "A Colombian Necktie. It- - It's..." I took a moment, before whispering quickly and weakly, "It's where the throat's slashed horizontally, and then the tongue is pulled out through the wound."

It took a moment for Sans to react, but when he did, his expression was outright murderous.

Sans' voice was low as he spoke more to himself than to me, "you're just a _kid_ , and he- - that asshole- -" Sans turned his back to me, taking a moment to breathe and calm down.

I kept my distance, the anxiety in me welling up some, "Sans, it's okay, really, I- -"

Sans whirled around, his expression seeming broken, "it is _not_ okay. you are a _kid_ , and you never should have gone through any of the hell that your fa- - that the asshole put you through." Taking another few moments to cool off, Sans' held out a hand to me, "c'mon kid, let's go have dinner. paps made some spaghetti for us." As Sans led me downstairs to the kitchen, he got in one more word with me, "oh, and frisk? ya don't have to worry about being sent back to the surface. you're stayin' here."

As Sans sat down at the dinner table, I stood there, dumbfounded, until my sense came back to me.

Sitting down at the table, I smiled, an actual full smile, for the first time in years.

* * *

"Hey, Grillby, I have a question."

The flame monster set a strawberry milkshake with extra whipped cream down in front of me, motioning for me to continue.

I cleared my throat, "What do you know about timelines?"

Grillby froze, his flames slightly dwindling, "Why do you ask?"

I took a sip of my milkshake, nervous, "Well... Do you know who Chara is?"

Grillby flinched slightly, so slightly that I almost didn't see it, "Yes, Chara Dreemur. What about her?"

I bit my lip, trying not to fidget too much, "She's a ghost, that only I can see and hear, I guess. We think that if you can tell us what timelines are, we can start to piece together the memories from... well, not in this life, but the last one?"

Grillby took my empty milkshake glass, which I didn't even remember drinking, "Young one, you and Chara need to stop. Do not try and piece things together. There are things from the last timeline that... you shouldn't see, or remember."

I bit my lip, thinking, "So, the timelines are just like... past lives, almost? It's a bit different each time, and sometimes you may not be the same person, but in this case with the timelines, I'm the same person every time. The only things that are different this life are my family, and my age, and a few other things. Right?"

Grillby sighed, running a hand through his flames, "To put it simply, yes... Frisk, please promise me that you won't try and remember everything? There's... a lot that you're not going to be ready for, and I don't believe that you will ever be ready for it."

Digging my nails into my thumbs, I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe I won't be ready for it, but that doesn't mean that I can just _not_ remember. I don't have any control over what I remember and what I don't remember. Sometimes they come in dreams, sometimes it's in a random flashback during the day." I sighed, letting my hands drop to my lap, "And I know that there's probably a lot more that I shouldn't remember. Apparently I had a sister, who was murdered, and I was the one who found her body. I really can't imagine anything worse than that, but if you say there's more, then... I believe you."

Grillby leaned on the bar, looking at me with a grim and uneasy expression in his eyes, "Young one, are you okay? It seems as if you are taking this really well, but I am concerned about how well you seem to be taking this."

I grabbed the counter-top, spinning myself since the chair was a spinny one, "It's whatever. I guess having the experience of going through bad things makes me have less of a reaction to other bad things. I dunno."

Grillby was quiet for a moment, before asking me another question, "I know you may not want to talk about it, but what exactly have you gone through? I know in the last timeline, your parents weren't fit to be taking care of kids, so that may be the case for this timeline?"

I stopped spinning, and became incredibly quiet, before looking back up to Grillby, "Do you happen to have any scissors by any chance?"

Caught off guard by the question, Grillby slowly nodded, "I believe there is a pair in the back room. May I ask why?"

"Would you be willing to cut my hair?" I asked quietly. Biting my lip, I continued, "I was going to cut it myself earlier, but I didn't get the chance to."

Not questioning me, Grillby nodded, before heading to the back room and grabbing the scissors.

Silently, Grillby came onto my side of the bar counter, stepping behind me, "How short?"

I took a shaky breath, the panicky feeling beginning to appear, "Short enough, that... no one can grab it and use it against me, ever again."

Grillby got to work, cutting my hair up to my shoulders, before stopping momentarily, "Frisk, are you sure? You loved your long hair in the last run."

Tears threatened to appear, my voice soft, "I'm sure."

Grillby continued his work, until my hair was cut up to my ears.

Setting the scissors down on the counter, Grillby went into the back room for a small hand-held mirror for me, "I got it as short as I could. I've never come across anything that could be used to shave hair, so this will have to do for now."

Taking the hand-held mirror in my hands, I examined my hair. It was short enough that if someone tried to grab it, they would lose their grip easily.

I got up from the bar stool, setting the mirror down on the counter and throwing my arms around Grillby.

Tears escaped from my eyes, getting onto Grillby's outfit as we hugged one another. My voice was barely a whisper, for if I raised it any higher, it would break, "Thank you, Grillby."

Grillby only hugged me tighter.

* * *

"kid, you've really gotta stop leaving during the night without tellin' me."

I winced slightly instead of flinching, turning to face Sans, "I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to Grillby about something, and get my hair cut."

Sans smiled slightly, "yeah, i see that. the hair looks nice, by the way." His smile lessening some, Sans sat down next to me on the couch, "ya know that you can come to me if ya need anythin', right?"

I pulled my blanket up to my chin, nodding slightly, "I know. I just didn't want to bother you last night with a question that you may not have been able to answer, and a stupid haircut."

Sans sighed, "first off: the haircut isn't stupid, it was an important thing to you. second: just what do you and grillbs talk about that's so complicated and difficult for me to understand?"

I bit my lip, debating on whether to tell Sans or not, "It may not be so complicated, but maybe more like... a lot to process and take in. I just- - I don't even know much about what's going on right now with the 'complicated' issue, so I think I'll talk to you about it once I learn more. Deal?"

Sans was quiet for a moment, before giving me a small smile, "yeah, deal. just leave a note or somethin' next time."

After a small bit of hesitation, I wrapped my arms around Sans, giving him a hug, "Thank you for being my friend."

Sans returned the hug, chuckling, "no problem, kid."

Pulling away from the hug, I stood up and got my shoes on, "I'm going to go see Toriel now, okay?"

Sans waved a dismissive hand, already nodding off on the couch, "sure kid, stay safe."

Heading out into the chilly Snowdin air, I began to make my way towards the Ruins.

Now that monsters weren't constantly trying to attack me, I actually made my way to the Ruins a lot quicker.

But as I went to cross the small bridge to get to the Ruins, something happened.

Taking a few steps forward, one of the large wooden planks came loose, dropping into the chasm below as my feet went down with it.

A sharp gasp escaped from my lips as I went down, throwing my arms out to catch the wooden beam just below the bridge.

Landing so strongly on my arms, I took in a sharp breath and whimpered, knowing I wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

Hoisting myself up slightly, my right arm held on tightly to the beam, while my left hand grabbed my phone from my short's pocket.

My whole body shaking as I held myself up, I quickly dialed Sans' number, "Please pick up, please pick up…."

I heard the click of the phone, and then Sans' groggy voice, "heya kiddo, miss me already?"

Gasping as my hold began to loosen on the beam, I spoke quickly, "Sans, I was crossing the bridge to the Ruins and one of the boards came loose and I fell and- -"

Sans seemed wide awake now, "whoa kiddo, slow down. now, what's the deal right now?"

I took a breath to calm myself, "I'm hanging off of a beam right now, dangling over a deep chasm. Think you can hurry?"

Sans gave me the affirmative, saying something about a shortcut, and telling me to stay on the phone.

But as soon as those words left his mouth, my arm slid off of the beam, that sickening falling sensation deep within my stomach.

.

.

.

.

"kid, i was gonna say that you really should stop leavin' during the night, but i think there's something more urgent than that, and we should talk about it."

I pulled the blanket up to my chin again, knowing what was coming next, "Okay."

Sans sat down next to me, running a hand over his skull, "kid, some weird things have been happening since you've been here, so i can only assume that it's related to you." After a moment, Sans continued, "there've been times where time goes back some, and some things are relived; are you the one doing that?"

I nodded, my words starting to tumble out, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Sans! I don't mean to die and restart everything, I just- -"

Sans put his hands on my shoulders, "kid, cut that bullshit right now, and slow down. just explain. there's no need for an apology, and there's no need for panicking. okay?"

I took a breath, fully realizing that Sans wouldn't hurt me like my father would, "Okay." After taking a moment to think my words through, I began to speak, "Every time I've died down here, I reset. I come back from a certain point in time, and continue on."

Sans took the first shaky breath I've heard from him, pulling me closer, "and that's why the world will sometimes fade into darkness, and there's a sense of deja vu. right?"

I nodded, leaning my head on Sans' shoulder, "Yeah... I'm sorry."

Feeling a droplet of liquid on my head, I went to look up at Sans, but he only held me tighter to him, "kid, didn't i just say to stop apologizin'? you're the one who's already died nine times."

I wrapped my arms around Sans, whispering, "Sorry."

After what felt like hours, Sans cleared his throat.

His voice came out a lot deeper than usual, "now that we're on such a serious topic, mind if i poach a subject or two?"

I sighed, "Go ahead."

Sans took a moment, thinking of what to say, "there have been a few times where you've cut yourself off in the middle of speaking. specifically, when you're talking about something involving your good ol' dad on the surface. and there have also been times where've you said something that's... concerning." When I didn't say anything, Sans continued, "take earlier in the bathroom, for example. you said somethin' about how you 'have enough scars as it is'. just... what exactly did you mean by that?"

I bit my lip so hard, that I was afraid I might bite through it, "It's- - Um, it's- - ...hard to explain." After sitting in silence for a moment, I stood up and began to lift my shirt, "It'd be easier to just show you."

Lifting my shirt and stopping just below my chest, I spun in a slow circle, showing Sans the scars on both my abdomen and backside. After that slow spin, I let my shirt down and rolled up my sleeves, holding my arms out for Sans to see the scars there too.

As I went to show him my thighs, Sans' hand shot out and grabbed my arm, his voice quiet, "stop. just stop, kid."

I bit my lip even harder than I already had, drawing blood, "I'm sorry, did I do something wro- -"

Sans sat me down on the couch next to him, the white pinprick's in his eyes somehow showing all of the horror and disgust he felt, "no kid, no. you didn't do _anything_ wrong." After a moment, Sans let out a big sigh, looking down at his hands, "i know i've said this before, but you're just a _kid_. how- - why- -"

I put a gentle hand on skeleton's shoulder, scooting a bit closer, "Hey, it's okay. I- -"

Sans jumped up from the couch, beginning to pace, "but it's not okay! you're a fucking child, and this guy decides he's going to what, hold you down as he slits your wrists? ties you to a bed-post or some shit and whips you like a fucking slave?"

"Yes."

Sans froze mid-pace, absolutely still.

I hugged my knees up to my chest, continuing on for some odd reason, "Except he had me hold onto the side of the bathtub while he took a broken glass bottle and 'carved the sins from a corrupt child'... And the slit wrists are from the time he faked my suicidal tendencies and acted as the heroic and noble father who had saved his daughter and planned on helping her... And the scars on my abdomen are—they—"

Feeling the world drop from beneath me, I braced myself for another flashback.

.

 _I lay on the cold, unforgiving operating table, tears falling into my ears in this position, my nose stinging._

 _"Lay straight, don't move."_

 _I did as I was told, but turned my head to look at the person wielding the scalpel, my voice desperate and broken, "Dad, please, don't."_

 _Getting no response, my father continued on, checking to see if everything was in place before he could begin._

 _My body shook as he lowered the scalpel down to my bare stomach, my voice rising in pitch, "Dad please! I don't want to be part of this experiment! I don't want to be part of it!"_

 _The scalpel was at my throat in an instant, ready to spill my dark crimson blood, "Shut your mouth, now. If someone finds us in here, it is all over." Clearing his throat, my father went back to my abdomen with the scalpel, "Now, relax, take a breath."_

 _"This is going to hurt."_

.

Screaming for help, I wrapped my arms around my stomach, caving in on myself.

Cool arms were around me in an instant, a voice trying to soothe me, "kid, kid you're okay. you're here, with me, in snowdin. you're in the underground now, and you are safe. listen to me, please kid. just listen to the words coming from my mouth. you are okay. you are safe. i'm here to protect you."

My breathing was ragged, my arms still wrapped around myself, but I had calmed considerably.

Taking some shaky breaths, I let out a bitter laugh, "I'm sorry Sans. I am an absolute mess that you did not ask for."

I could feel Sans shrug as he hesitantly let go of me, hoping I was calmer now, "eh, i have experience with dealing with absolute messes. i mean, take a look at me. aren't i the most accurate manifestation of a train-wreck?"

Shaking my head, I looked up at Sans, "Not as big of a train-wreck as me. But you don't even look like you'd be a train-wreck. You just seem really relaxed most of the time, and laid back."

Sans shrugged again, "sure, kid. anywho, ya still visitin' your mom, or are you goin' to stay here this time? cause if ya wanna see your mom, ya gotta know that i'm comin' with."

I rubbed my face, trying to get all of the stress off of it, "Um, neither. I think I'm actually gonna go see Alphys and Mettaton, since, you know, I kind of broke down the last time I saw them."

Sans gave me a lazy smile, putting his legs up on the couch, "okay kid, have fun. be safe, don't die."

I rolled my eyes, slipping my shoes on and beginning to leave the house, "Ha ha, so funny Sans. I'll be back in a few hours."

Giving Sans a small wave goodbye, I stepped out into Snowdin's chilly air, beginning towards Hotland.

* * *

Walking into the lab, I found Alphys at her desk immediately.

Heading over to her, I smiled, "Hey Alphys."

Alphys jumped in her seat, turning her head to see me, "O-Oh, Frisk! You can, can talk now? And you've, you've cut your hair!"

I nodded, "Yeah, I've been able to talk. It was just a choice not to. And um, as for the hair... do you have like, something to shave it with?"

Alphys seemed a bit confused, but slowly nodded her head, "I-I have something upstairs. An, an electric razor, I think. Do you want me to, to go get it?"

Hesitant, I nodded, and stood silently as Alphys went to get the razor.

Looking over at the large screen with me on it, I went over my appearance again.

The bags under my amber eyes seemed to have lightened, even if it had only been about two or three days away from home. My cuts and bruises were practically healed up, with the exception of the ugly mixture of purple and yellow around my throat. But all things considered, I looked much... healthier than I had been on the Surface. Even if I've only been in the Underground for a few days.

When a hand reached up to my shoulder, I jumped, before realizing that Alphys was back with the electric razor.

Walking back over to Alphys' desk, I let her sit in the chair while I sat on the floor.

Hearing the buzz of the razor, I closed my eyes, letting Alphys get to work on my remaining hair.

After a few moments, the buzzer stopped and Alphys stood up, "It's, it's done now. If you want, you can, can take a look."

Standing up, I went over to the large screen I had been standing in front of earlier, and tears pricked my eyes.

My bruises and cuts were very distinct now, but... my hair was gone.

A wobbly smile made it's way onto my face, as I realized that this was like some sort of... divide from my life on the Surface, and the new life I was making down here in the Underground.

I turned to Alphys, throwing my arms around her, my voice quiet, "Thank you."

Alphys let out a surprised 'oh', before wrapping her arms around me as well, "F-Frisk, I didn't really do anything."

I hugged her tighter, the hot tears dripping off the tip of my nose and onto her science coat, "No, Alphys you didn't do just anything."

Wiping my eyes, I broke the hug, looking at the confused dinosaur monster through a blur of tears.

"You gave me freedom. You gave me some control."


	6. Chapter 6: WD

Chapter 6: W.D.

It had been a little over a month since I had fallen into the Underground, and time really seemed to fly.

When I had failed to call and visit her, Toriel came to Snowdin, desperately asking around for me. When she found me living with the skeleton brothers, she nearly burst into tears because of how relieved she was. Long story short, I preferred living in Snowdin, so Toriel would visit weekly and got along great with everyone. The only downside with Toriel coming to visit, is that Sans and her plague Papyrus and I with awful puns.

Toriel also didn't like that I had shaved my head, but she quickly accepted and went along with it.

On the other hand, I had met formally met Undyne, and she adored my shaved head, even if she didn't say it out loud to me. Undyne actually liked my hair so much that she shaved half of her head to be in the "shaved heads club" with me. And because Undyne had stopped trying to kill me, it made it all the more fun with her joining the group of Alphys, Mettaton, and I. Anime nights were especially fun when Undyne and Alphys both got so into the anime we were watching.

I had even met Asgore. We both sat down, and had a civil conversation, instead of fighting. When Asgore had learned that I did not plan on going back to the Surface, he actually cried in relief, hugging me tightly. Now I would go over and visit him every Sunday for tea and gardening, talking about any and everything.

...On a more serious note, Grillby and I had been talking more. I had about 50% of my memory from the past timeline back. The other 50% was there, but it just seemed to escape me time and time again; Grillby still warned me about remembering, but I really couldn't help it. I would head over to the restaurant two or three nights every week or so, just to talk things out and comprehend everything with Grillby. The flame monster had been incredibly helpful with trying to comfort me, but he just didn't seem to get that I... didn't really have any feelings to associate with the last timeline.

.

.

.

.

.

"Hey, Sans?"

After knocking on the door, and calling for him, I heard some shuffling from inside Sans' room, before the skeleton opened his door.

Groggily, Sans stood in his doorway, eyes squinted, "yeah, kid, what is it."

I dug my nails into my thumbs, hesitant, "Do you... Do you want to come with me, to Grillby's?"

Sans' eyes widened, as he began to wake up more, "grillby's? like, one of your secret outings to chat with grillbs?"

I nodded, giving him a small smile, "Yeah. I mean... I told you I would involve you when I understood things better, and I understand things now. Plus, Grillby told me you were a scientist? So maybe you can comprehend this quicker than I did."

Sans had gone into his room and gotten his jacket, but as he came back to the door and heard me mention the word scientist, he stumbled, "grillbs told ya i was a scientist?"

I took notice of how uncomfortable Sans had become at the mention of being a scientist, and quickly continued on as we head over to the restaurant, "He said you used to be a scientist, but we changed subject pretty quickly."

As we stepped out into the frigid air, beginning our walk to Grillby's, Sans was quiet and pensive.

Before we stepped into Grillby's, I tugged on Sans' jacket sleeve, getting his attention, "Sans, you've taken me under your wing for the past month or so, and while I have my own... issues, I guess, I've also seen that you're dealing with some stuff." I could feel my cheeks heat up, and I bit my lip, "Ugh, I'm no good with words. What I'm trying to say, is that I dump everything on you a lot, so why not do the same with me? If you have something you need to talk about, or get out, just... try talking to me, I guess."

Sans was certainly surprised with my offer at first, but his surprise and shock, turned into a fond and appreciative smile. Sans ruffled my hair, before putting his hand on the door knob to the restaurant, "thanks kid, i might just take you up on that sometime... maybe when you're more stable though, and not chilled down to your _bones_."

I playfully punched Sans in the arm, before following him into Grillby's.

When Grillby turned around to greet me, he was very surprised to find that I was not alone this time, and seemed at a loss for words.

Heading up to the bar, I gave Grillby a sheepish smile before sitting down, "Sorry you weren't expecting this, I made the choice kind of last minute." Sensing that Grillby was hesitant about telling Sans about everything, I spoke again, "After finding out everything that I know, I thought it was only fair to include Sans. Y'know, since he used to remember the different timelines, before everything happened. I hope that's okay with you."

After a moment of silence, Grillby turned to Sans, speaking softly, "This would sound really strange to most others, but you worked with Dr. W.D. Gaster, so this may not come as much of a shock or surprise to you."

I bit my lip, interjecting as Sans winced, "Um, Grillby, he didn't seem to react well to hearing Gaster's name in the last run, and I think it's the same situation now."

Sans looked both pale and completely and utterly lost, "'last run', 'gaster', you guys, you're not really helpin' me understand here."

While I kept my mouth shut, Grillby continued on, "What Frisk has been discussing with me every night she has come here, are the timelines. I understand that you and Gaster were delving into the idea of different worlds or alternate realities, of some sort, so this should be something within that realm of knowledge and experimentation. Now timelines, are, put simply, like past lives or instances within our world. The timelines are tied with Frisk's resets, which I assume you have knowledge of."

Sans was quiet for a moment, before nodding slowly, "yeah, i know about the kid's resets. but, this timeline thing is like... an alternate reality, or different world, is what you're saying?"

I jumped in before Grillby could, explaining, "No, the timelines are, well... Personally, I would describe the timelines like past lives. You're born, you go through life, you die, and then you're born again. In the Human society, past lives are most often very, very different from each life you have had. But in this case, it's like I reset, and I live out my life very similarly to the last life, but with changes made. For example, in the past life, I was around eighteen years old when I fell into the Underground, and I had a sister. Yet in this life, I'm fifteen, and have no siblings."

Sans took a moment to digest and comprehend this, before smiling slightly, "so our theories were close to the truth... okay, so basically, frisk can't really, like, permanently die, to our knowledge at least. and because of this, there are different lives, with different story-lines and outcomes, and we don't even know how many different timelines there are."

I thought back to the last timeline, where I had been dying of something that would take care of me. Permanently. Slightly tilting my head side to side, I shrugged, "To our knowledge, yes. My memory of it all is a bit iffy, so I'm not the most reliable source."

Sans gave a slight nod, before becoming pensive once more, mulling everything over.

Leaving Sans to his own thoughts, Grillby planted himself in front of me, picking up a glass to clean, "Frisk, young one, do you need to talk about anything at all? Anything about the last timeline that's bothering you?"

I slowly shook my head, folding my hands in front of me on the bar counter, "No, I'm fine... But, I know that I should be feeling _some_ kind of emotion, but I just don't."

Grillby slowly set the glass he had just picked up, down on the counter. His voice soft, Grillby leaned toward me, "You don't feel anything, no emotion, at all?"

I glanced over at Sans, who had dozed off in the middle of his contemplation, "Nothing. I know I loved him, and I know I loved my little sister as well, but there's... nothing. It's like I'm watching a movie, and a character dies. I'm not the character's mother or anything, so I don't really emote any sadness or anger, I just feel kinda bad about it for a moment, and then continue on with my life."

Grillby seemed to furrow his brows, crossing his arms, "I see. And you don't think anything will be able to change that, somehow? You'll just always see it as something other than your life?"

I shrugged, looking over at Sans, who was still asleep, "I don't know. I can't just force myself to feel anything. Yeah, it makes me a little sad to know that I had a whole other life with so many different things, but that's in the past. I'm living my life now, so why dwell on it anymore. Y'know?"

Grillby smile slightly, his flames a little higher than before, "You understand now, that not everything needs to be remembered or dwelled upon. Seems like you've matured quickly."

A small laugh bubbled up behind my lips, "It's not like I've aged like a fine wine, Grillby. I'm only sixteen, I still have a lot to experience and learn."

Standing up straighter, Grillby went to put a glass away, "Sixteen? I believe you said you were fifteen, Frisk."

I smiled, "Yeah, well, my birthday was in this past month, so I'm actually sixteen now. It just slipped my mind that I wasn't fifteen anymore."

Grillby was quiet for a moment, before he crossed over to Sans and whacked him over the head, "Wake up you blockhead."

Sans fell off of his chair, grumbling, "sheesh, such harsh language."

Grillby crossed his arms, "Frisk's birthday was this month. Did you celebrate?"

Sans got up, sitting back on his seat, "no—don'thitmeagain!"

"Pfft, you guys stop! It's not that big of a deal, okay? It's just like any other day, except I'm a little older," I half laughed, half explained to the pair.

Grillby shushed me, crossing over to the bar, "What kind of milkshake do you want?"

Biting my lip, I debated on what I wanted, "I guess I'll try a vanilla with whipped cream."

As Grillby set the milkshake in front of me, he held up a finger, went to the back room, and then quickly came back.

Holding something behind his back, Grillby spoke quietly, almost bashfully, "I had this for you in the last timeline, but the war—forget that. I had this for you, but I never got to give it to you. Somehow, it transferred into this timeline, so..." Grillby held out his hands, a white enamel orchid on a silver chain, "Happy birthday, Frisk."

Gently pushing the milkshake aside, I took the necklace gently into my hands, "Thank you." Reaching over the bar counter, I gave Grillby a gentle hug, "Thank you so much, it's absolutely beautiful. I love it."

Grillby smiled, taking it back into his hands so he could clasp it around my neck, "I am glad you like it. Initially, I had it enchanted by Gabriel, Liam, and Selena—er—who you have no memory of."

Once it was on, I didn't want to take the necklace off, "I don't have a memory of them _yet_. Everything will probably come back to me, just not right now. But, Grillby, why did you enchant it?"

Grillby gave me a small smile, before explaining, "There are three petals on that orchid, and each petal represents a person you had held close to you. One, was for Sans. Another, for Asriel. And the last, for your sister, Melody."

At the mention of his name, Sans was comparable to a puppy with it's ears pricked up, "why me?"

I could feel a wild blush coming onto my face, knowing that Sans and I had been in a romantic relationship. Looking at Grillby, I gave him a look that said 'if you tell him I will die of embarrassment so don't even think about it', before answering Sans' question, "You were my best friend. Anyways, thank you Grillby, so much."

Grillby hushed me, getting back to cleaning a glass, "Now, when was your birthday. I want an exact day, time, and year."

Sighing, I mumbled my birthday to the waiting flame monster, "February 29th, 10:58 PM, 2000."

Grillby seemed to make a mental note of that, before setting the glass he was cleaning down once more, strolling over to our side of the bar, and heading to a piano tucked away in a corner. Sitting down, fingers ready to play, Grillby looked over to me, "Any requests, Frisk?"

Smiling, I hopped off my seat at the bar, going over and sitting with Grillby on the piano bench, "Do you know Hey Jude, by the Beatles?"

Grillby nodded, "Of course. You'll have to be patient with me though, I haven't played in a while."

As soon as his fingers hit the keys though, I fell in love.

Closing my eyes, I imagined my fingers hitting every note, my hands moving gracefully.

Under my breath, I sang quietly, "Hey Jude, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better. Hey Jude, don't be afraid, you were made to go out and get her..." Trailing off, I began to hum instead of sing, so I wouldn't be as self-conscious.

As Grillby continued playing, I could feel the world drop beneath me, and I only hoped that it would be a good memory that was coming to me.

.

 _"Frisk, play it again! Pretty please? Or at least another one?"_

 _Melody grabbed onto my hands, placing them back on the piano and waiting hopefully._

 _Chuckling, I turned my head to look at everyone else in the restaurant, "Okay, let's take a vote. All in favor of me playing another song?"_

 _Every hand in the establishment went up, along with some whistles._

 _Turning back towards my sister, I playfully glared, "Okay kid, you get your way this time. Now, what song?"_

 _Jumping up and down, my sister giggled, "All of me! By the Legend guy!"_

 _Smiling, I ran through the notes in my head, and then began. Quietly clearing my throat, and letting the restaurant quiet down, I started to sing, "What would I do without your smart mouth? Drawing me in, and you kicking me out. Got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down. What's going on in that beautiful mind? I'm on your magical mystery ride, and I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright. My head's under water, but I'm breathing fine. You're crazy, and I'm out of my mind."_

 _Melody contained her excitement, being quiet for one of her favorite songs._

 _Continuing, I shot a look to both Melody and Sans, who was sitting at the bar with Pandora. With that small ache in my heart, I let it all out with my singing, "'Cause all of me, loves all of you. Love your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections. Give your all to me, and I'll give my all to you. You're my end and my beginning, even when I lose I'm winning. 'Cause I give you all, all of me, and you give me all, all of you."_

 _As I sang, and began to finish up, I never once faltered. Not when Melody pretended to faint from her excitement, and not when Pandora said something that made Sans laugh._

 _When my fingers left the last note, I stood up, turned around, and bowed._

 _Applause filled my ears, making me smile as happiness and excitement entered my system._

.

When the memory was over, Grillby had finished playing, and had turned to me.

Smiling slightly, the flame monster gave me a brief hug, "I haven't heard your beautiful singing voice in a little over a year. Though, it feels like it's been centuries since I last heard you sing."

Returning a small smile, I shrugged, "I'm sure I was a better singer in the last timeline."

Grillby shook his head slightly, "No, Frisk, I believe you have kept that stunning singing voice." Giving me another brief hug, Grillby got up and went back to his place behind the bar, "Now then, Frisk, Sans, it is getting late. You should head home to get some rest."

Looking over at Sans, who had been quiet the whole time, I saw that he looked deeply confused and lost.

Gently tapping Sans on the shoulder, I gave him a smile as he looked up, "Hey, Grillby's saying that we should get home and rest, so we should probably get going."

In a snap of the fingers, Sans had his usual grin on, "okay kiddo, we can get going." As we walked towards the exit, Sans waved goodbye to Grillby, "see ya next time grillbs, and thanks for invitin' me to this little session."

As soon as we stepped out into the chilly night air, I turned to Sans, "Hey, what's wrong? You seemed... I dunno, lost? Upset maybe?"

Sans kept his usual grin in place, dismissively waving his hand, "nah, i'm fine. just wanna get home, i'm real tired."

After walking a few steps towards the house, I turned to him again, "Okay, you're a liar because you're not just tired, and you don't seem as 'fine' as you usually are. Talk to me? Take me up on my offer?"

Seeming a little shocked at my persistence and offer, Sans slowly gave me a small smile, before chuckling, "okay, okay kid, you win, i'll talk. but first, let's get into the house, 'kay?"

Sans opened the front door of the house for me, letting me step in before him.

Kicking my shoes off, I practically fell onto the couch, before quickly sitting up and looking at Sans. I sat with my legs crisscross, before patting the couch cushion next to me, "Okay Sans, what's been vexing you?"

Sitting beside me, Sans leaned back on the couch to try and appear laid back, but failing. After a moment, Sans let out a small sigh, "okay, now i feel kinda ridiculous. i'm supposed to be talking to a fifteen year old about something that's been bothering me."

Putting what I hope was a comforting hand on his shoulder, I spoke quietly, "Hey, if there's something bothering you, then you need to talk to someone. And chances are, if it has something to do with the timelines, I'll probably have an answer or solution of some sort."

Letting out a small sigh, Sans sat up, turning his body towards me, "okay kid, i sure hope you're right on having an answer of some sort."

When Sans hesitated to speak, I took a few shots in the dark, "Is it about the past timeline? Gaster?" Noticing how Sans flinched in the slightest way, I knew I had found what was bothering him. Clearing my throat a little, I continued, "Okay, so this is about Gaster. Are you—What's your relationship with Gaster here?"

After a moment, Sans sort of shrugged, "i— is there any way that he could still be alive? you talked about him like you had met him, and that means that he lived in the last timeline, right?"

Biting my lip, I took a small breath, "Well, not exactly. When I met Gaster, he wasn't exactly dead, but he wasn't really... fully living either, I guess. Gaster was stuck in the void when I met him." When I saw Sans' perplexed expression, I elaborated, "The void is basically a place where Gaster can exist, but he can't really leave. All he can do is sit and watch life go on without him."

Taking this in, Sans let out a long sigh, "and, uh, how exactly were you able to meet him? If it's a place where he exists, but he can't leave, then doesn't that mean that you wouldn't have been able to enter the void?"

Wincing, I dug my nails into my thumbs, "I— I don't know if you can enter the void while still living, because I died and showed up in the void." Seeing Sans' slightly disappointed features, I felt something in me shift, almost like... I don't know, determination? Placing a hand on Sans', I spoke quietly, "I'm sorry that I haven't been very helpful. I am going to find out more. I promise."

Sans gave me a small smile, before getting up from the couch, "thanks kid, i really appreciate it. but you shouldn't make promises that you may not be able to keep."

Grabbing a blanket from beside the couch, I looked over at Sans, before laying down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

As Sans made it to his door, I called out to him, "Hey, Sans?" When I heard his footsteps stop, I continued, "I don't make promises I can't keep."

Rolling onto my side, facing the back of the couch, and curling up, I shut my eyes, willing sleep to come.

"'night, kid."

* * *

Walking through Waterfall, heading to Alphys' lab, when something caught my eye.

Something that wasn't there before.

Approaching the weathered, light gray, yellowing door, I grasped the doorknob.

Gentle turning the knob, I opened the door, to reveal the nothingness that lie behind it.

Peering inside, putting one foot through the door, I called out, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"YᎬᏕ. CᎾmᎬ cᏝoᏕᎬr, CᎻᎥᏝd."

Feeling my stomach sink when I heard that distorted and quiet voice, I instinctively took a step backwards, but the door slammed on me before I could even blink. Not being able to see in the pitch black room, I quietly called out, "Who are you? Why do you want me here?"

The voice came from beside my right ear, quiet, and malevolent, "YᏫu ᏞᏆᎬ tᎾ ᎢᏲem. I aᎷ Ꮤ.Ꭰ. ᏳaᎦtᏋᎡ. bᏌt ᎩᎾu Ꮷo **NᎾᎢ** knᏫᏔ ᎷᏋ." After a moment of silence, the voice was right in front of me, about an inch from my face, "ᎽᎾᏌ aᏒᏋ ᏂeᎡe fᏫᏒ mᎩ ᏌᏕᎬ."

Backing up as much as I could, I tried to think of what Gaster meant, "You're use— NO!" Running away from where I thought he was, I screamed back at him, "If you take my soul, and if you can somehow come back, then Sans will _never_ forgive you!"

Haunting laughter filled my ears, overcoming my sense of hearing as the laughter came from all crevices of the void, "Ꮋe ᏧᏫᎬᎦ't nᏋeᎠ tᎾ knᎾᎳ tᏂat ᎩoᏌ ᎬᏤen exᎥᎦᎢᏋᏧ."

God, how did I get myself into this so quickly. Why does something bad always have to happen to me?

Almost before I could react, a barrage of attacks came my way, forcing me to evade them.

Wincing as a beam from a Gaster Blaster hit my leg, I looked back at Gaster with tears in my eyes, "Gaster, please, I _wasn't_ lying, I _do_ know you! Just give me a chance to explain, and I swear, everything will make more sense!"

Gaster seemed to hesitate for an instant, before becoming more vehement, "Ꭵ Ꭺm nᏫᎢ ᎥnᎢEREᏕtED Ꭵn ᎢaᏝᏦᎥnᏩ ᎪnᎽ ᏝᎾnᏳᎬᏒ!"

Ducking and rolling, I avoided Gaster's first attack in an instant. But I wouldn't be able to do this forever.

I stood still for a split moment, before taking a deep breath, and charging straight for the fallen and ruined scientist.

Charging straight for Gaster, all of my courage and willpower mustered up, I caught the scientist off guard.

As the scientist just stood there, startled by my sudden "attack", I came up to three feet away from him.

Two feet.

One foot.

 _Now_.

Moving fast, I slid underneath the scientist's spindly figure, narrowly missing his legs.

As I grabbed the doorknob to leave the Void, I quickly called back to the scientist, trying not to cry, "I'll come back for you! I _will_ find a way to help you, I promise!"

Seeing Gaster's torn expression as I darted out the door, I quickly looked away, ashamed at not being able to help.

With the door slamming behind me, fading into the shadows, I could only stand there.

Running a hand through the 4 inches of hair that had grown in one month, I took a shaky breath, whispering quietly.

 _"I promise."_


	7. Chapter 7: The Royal Scientist

Chapter 7: The Royal Scientist

With the date that I had set up between Alphys and Undyne, I was going to be doing some research.

Stepping from the heat of Hotland, the cool air from the Lab was a welcome thing, refreshing me as I made my way over to the lab door that Alphys always had locked every single day before she left.

Stepping up to the door, I faltered upon seeing that a security code was required.

After a few seconds of trying to think of something, I reached out to Chara, "Hey, Chara, do you have any idea what the code could be? I'm at an impasse right now."

Chara was silent for a few moments, before her confident voice reached my ears, "The code is 87-24-2. I'm sure of it."

As I put in the code, I recited it quietly under my breath, "87-24-2, 87-24-2, 87-24-2... It worked, the code worked."

With the door sliding open to reveal the dimly lit elevator, and sucked in a breath.

I never did well with the dark.

Stepping into the elevator, I pressed the lowest floor before quickly stepping into a corner of the elevator.

After several moments of silence, the elevator came to a stop, and I darted out of the doors.

Looking around, the lab seemed to be untouched, with layers of dust blanketing everything in sight.

As I approached a desk that seemed promising, Chara's voice called out to me again, "I think the Royal Scientist kept the more personal things in another room. There was a room down a hall from here that I got into once, and whew, that was a hell of a chewing out that I got from both Mom and the Royal Scientist."

My fingertips just barely grazing the top of the desk I had approached, I turned to find that there were several hallways, each leading deeper into the darkness.

Biting my lip, I gave a weak laugh, "And just which hallway would that be? 'Cause if I were to go down one of these hallways—which I really _don't_ want to do, but I told Gaster I would help—I want to go down the right hallway."

After a few more moments, Chara's voice came through stronger, "Okay, it should be that hallway."

I stood quietly for a second, before sighing, "Chara, I can't see you, so pointing isn't going to help. Just— Okay, okay, let me take a moment and look around."

Looking around the dark and musky lab, I took notice of how wrecked and forlorn the state of the laboratory was. I looked over, finding knocked over chairs, along with one desk. I noticed how there were broken beakers on the floor, that seemed to have been nudged off of the counter by accident.

Spinning in a slow circle one last time, I was speechless as I called out to Chara, "It looks like something went wrong? Everyone left in a hurry, letting these beakers drop, overturning chairs in their rush. But what exactly happened?"

Chara gave me an 'mm-mmm', before letting out a long whistle, "Well, detective Frisk, looks like you already have some things figured out. Now, we should get moving, before Alphys gets back with Undyne. C'mon, the hallway you need to go down is the one next to that series of sinks and counters."

Walking quickly and quietly, uneasy by the eerie feel of the air in the Laboratory, I was left to my own thoughts. What if something really, really horrible happened here, and all of the scientists working here ended up dying? What if it had to do with the core? Did someone attack? An experiment on a subject gone wrong? What drove everyone out of here in the snap of the fingers? Where is everyone now?

Cut off by my thinking, Chara directed me towards the room she had once gotten into. "It's right there, to the left, just right up ahead. If it's locked, we'll have to hope that the key wasn't on Gaster before whatever happened... happened. "

My hair stood up on it's ends as I put my hand on the doorknob, making me feel even more uneasy than I had previously. Turning the knob gently to see if the door was unlocked, I practically jumped when the door fell inwards on itself, "Chara, I don't have a good feeling about this. There's nothing... living, down here, is there? Nothing that can hurt me?"

Chara was quiet for a few moments, before speaking up, hesitantly, "Well, there might be... the... the amalgamates. T-they shouldn't hurt you though, so you don't need to worry."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I hesitantly put one foot forwards through the door.

Standing in the room quietly for a moment, I spoke to Chara, "Amalgamates, you said? They sound familiar. Can you explain what exactly they are, please?"

Silent for several moments, Chara began quietly explaining, "The amalgamates are... well, they're—they're a bit difficult to explain. Essentially, they've been brought back from being fallen down. Alphys injected them all with Determination during an experiment to harness the power of SOULS, and to find a way to break the barrier. Unfortunately, monster bodies do not have enough physical matter to handle Determination, the magic that composed them lost cohesion, and they fused together in strange and horrifying creatures. It's... a lot to comprehend. B-But you cannot blame Alphys for being a part of the experiment! She was only continuing Gaster's work after he disappeared. Okay, Frisk?"

Biting my lip after receiving all of that information, I continued into the dark and musky room, "Okay. But I—I wanna know some more, later, okay?"

Silently, I navigated through the room, bumping into various objects and probably bruising my hips. Coughing slightly as the dust in the room was stirred up by me, I searched the walls blindly for a light switch. "Does the power even work down here? Because if the power does work, and I just walked around in the dark for absolutely no reason, then I may scream."

When my hands found a small switch, I flipped it immediately, and the lights flickered before fully turning on.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes wide and smiled, "Okay~ I just stumbled in the dark for absolutely no reason, and that is fine~"

Chara seemed to giggle, before getting a little more serious, "Okay Frisk, please don't scream. We only have a little while longer until Alphys gets back, so we should get moving."

Biting my lip, I began to sort through a desk drawer, finding an endless amount of papers filled with equations and symbols. Shifting through everything, the symbols and equations messing with my eyes, I almost missed the polaroid photograph tucked into the corner, hidden in the middle of the mess of papers.

Gently grabbing the photo, I pulled it out from under the stack of papers, holding it up in the light. I found two skeletons in the photo. One of the skeletons was Gaster, but the other was a woman I had never seen before.

Chara's voice seemed as if it had faded a bit as she spoke to me, "That's Sans and Papyrus' mom, right? So does that mean that Gaster is their father?"

Pocketing the photo, I kept looking, "Maybe. It just doesn't seem to be enough to be able to assume that Gaster is their dad in this timeline. Anyways, we're supposed to be looking for some way to bring Gaster back. Do you think he would keep any personal documents or hypotheses of any sort in here?"

Faintly, Chara's voice came from near a filing cabinet, "Well, this seems like a good place to start."

Crossing over to the cabinet, I opened the top drawer, flipping through different files and folders. Out of habit, I began to mumble under my breath as I read, "The Core, Chemistry, Magic Sciences, Fallen Children, Determination, Amalgamates... but nothing on anything that can concern the Void at all."

Opening the second drawer, I began flipping through the folders in there, "Fighting techniques, Gaster Blasters, Undyne, Sans— Wait, Undyne? Sans?"

Pulling out the two folders with my friends' names on them, I bit my lip, "Sans was an assistant, so I think I understand why his name would be in here. But Undyne makes no sense. Why would her name be with these files?"

Opening Undyne's folder, my eyes quickly scanned and comprehended what I was reading, my stomach sinking as I read on.

Chara's voice came from over my shoulder, her voice grim, "'Subject #3 has a lower pain tolerance compared to Subject #2, but does well with the injections. Subject #3 possesses the resistance to overcome the negative effects of the injections, and overall, has gotten the positive effects of the Determination.' What the actual hell, Frisk? He experimented on our friends."

Quickly closing Undyne's folder, I grabbed Sans' folder, flipping it open and beginning to read, "'Subject #2 stepped in to prevent Subject #1 from further harming themselves for the sake of the experiment, and is now the main subject in the DT experiments. Day one of the injections brought much pain upon the subject, but as time progressed, the Subject became increasingly adjusted to each injection. Both the Subject and I observed a significant increase in the magical strength and ability that came with the DT injections.' ...This— This isn't okay."

Chara voiced her agreement, "Yeah, if they're really related, how could a father do this to his own son?"

As I was about to close the folder, I noticed a flash drive poking out from beneath some papers, "Hey, Chara, there's something here. Maybe it has some information we could use?"

Crossing over to the computer desk, I powered on the console and powered on the monitor, Plugging the flash drive in and waiting. When everything was ready to go, the files for the flash drive popped up, and I clicked onto them.

There were countless folders , each having wildly different nicknames or codes. After a while of searching, I found one file that was simply named 'Log', and clicked onto it, hoping for something useful. Instead of a document or code, a video popped up, with Gaster as the main star.

The audio wasn't the best, and it was pretty glitched out at first, but it soon became clear to my ears. "I have never done anything of this sort before, but I read a human study once a very long time ago about how logging your thoughts could help with the clutter inside of your mind, " Gaster was silent for several long moments, looking worn down and tired, traces of concern hiding within' his expression.

Finally, he spoke again, "I, W.D. Gaster, was having Subject #2 develop his fighting skills and Gaster Blasters—a technique which I had developed during the war as an instrument meant to quickly deteriorate away the physical forms of humans. My intention for teaching a Subject— Er, well, there's no use in hiding it. Since no one is going to be watching this log anyone time soon, I will allow myself to say it out loud... The Subject #2 that I have been referring to, is my son. His name is Sans, and he is an incredibly smart young man. I have much hope for him in the future. "

After several more long moments, a forlorn look crossed Gaster's face , before he spoke again, quietly, " I have driven my only son away... I had intended for Sans to assist in capturing Humans who fell into the Underground. He had no desire to become a killer, and was furious to have been seemingly deceived by someone who he expected honesty from. He left the lab with no indication on when or if he plans on returning. ... I have driven the only person left in my life away. Ariel was taken from me during the war, while I hid like a coward, in my lab, creating weapons that would only be used at the last moment, when I could have turned the tide of the war from the beginning. "

Gaster was about to speak again, but alarms went off, blaring through the speakers on the computer and distorting the audio. Faintly, you could hear another person begin to explain what was going on, but the only key terms that could be heard were 'CORE' and 'malfunction'. The last thing that the log left off on, was Gaster leaving the room, and everything going dark.

Calling out to Chara, I pocketed the flash drive, "Okay, that was... a lot more than what we came here for. We'll have to come back another day, when we can get Alphys out of the lab again, and when we have more time. For now, lets leave. Okay?" Not getting a response, I took the silence as an agreement, and began to put everything away.

As I began to leave the room though, something just drew me back in, making me stay. Without Chara, I didn't want to be there for much longer, so I flicked on the lights and scanned the room quickly. My eyes landed on the desk again, and I crossed back over, opening the drawer as quickly as I could. Inside, I saw the mess of papers, but this time, something else caught my eye. In the left-hand corner closest to me, the bottom of the drawer was sticking up slightly, revealing something underneath it. Reaching down and lifting the false bottom up, I set the papers I had shuffled through on the desk, and began to shuffle through the papers hidden in the false bottom.

Unsure of what to grab, I just grabbed everything, every stapled paper and envelopes and just everything. Leaving quickly, I almost dropped everything, but managed to keep it all in my arms. Running, I made it onto the elevator and onto the main level of the lab in record time.

Looking around, I saw that Alphys was not back yet, and threw all of the papers and envelopes in my inventory. I put everything away just in record time too, because Alphys came walking into the lab right after.

Trying not to look suspicious, I called out to her, "Hey Alphys! How was your date?"

Alphys snapped out of whatever dreamlike state she had been in, a blush creeping up on her, "O-oh, Frisk, what are you doing here?"

Crossing over to Alphys, distancing myself from the true lab, I smiled, "Well, I'm the one who set this date up between you two, so of course I wanted to see the outcome!"

Alphys practically turned cherry red, before sitting down at her desk and getting that far off look in her eyes, "It was perfect... B-but you don't want to hear about that! You're just a kid, and kids don't like to hear about that mushy gross stuff called love."

Smirking, I sat leaned against the wall next to her, "Oh yeah? Well for your information, I am sixteen, and I am very much interested in hearing about the gross mushy stuff called love, especially when it's concerning my favorite couple of all time. So, tell me all about it!"

Smiling wide, Alphys immediately launched into the events of the night, "O-Okay, so Undyne and I went to the MTT Resort for dinner, and Undyne was so b-beautiful! H-Her leather jacket, and just everything about her outfit was perfect! She was as g-gorgeous as always. A-anyways, after dinner, we went to the dump, to the place where we first met. I thought we were just going to h-hang out like always, b-but instead, she told me all about her feelings for m-me. A-And now, we- we're officially together!" Alphys squealed, a blushing, joyous mess.

Grinning, I stood up straight, "Finally! I've only been down here for like a month, and in that short period of time I couldn't stand how obvious it was that you liked each other, but then you guys did noting about it! Anyways, I have to get going. Sans wants me back before dinner every night. I'll see you later, okay?" When Alphys nodded, I gave her a quick hug and began to leave.

As I was going out the lab door, I called back to her, "Congratulations, by the way! ...I so can't wait to tell everyone about this." Leaving Alphys a blushing stuttering mess, I laughed as I went out the door, heading back to Snowdin.

As I got closer to the house, I ran the rest of the way, and barged inside. Taking a deep breath, I yelled at the top of my lungs, "THE MISSION WAS A SUCCESS!"

Smiling as Papyrus came down the stairs, he smiled right back, "Ah, so Undyne has finally asked her lizard friend to be more than just friends! I am so happy for them!"

Sans came down the stairs shortly after Papyrus, " so fish stick and the doc are together now? nice, happy for them."

Smiling about the couple, I practically skipped to the kitchen, "I'm so excited and energetic now! What am I supposed to do you guys?"

Sans shrugged, grabbing ketchup out of the fridge, "dunno, that sounds like a you problem, kid."

Papyrus almost dropped the plate he was holding, turning to me with stars in his eyes, "Snowball fight?"

Gasping, I smiled wide, "Snowball fight! C'mon, let's go gather our forces!"

Setting down everything he was holding, Papyrus ran outside with me, splitting up and going door to door to find others to join us. When we had enough people gathered, Papyrus and I split into two separate teams, building our forts and gathering ammunition. When we were done, Papyrus and I met in the middle of the clearing, both of our forts behind us.

Getting into role, I held my hand out, "Papyrus, great soldier of the Royal Guard, this is your only chance to surrender. Give up, and our forces shall be gentle with you and your people."

Narrowing his eyes, giving a grim smile as he got into role, Papyrus laughed in my face, "Nyehehe! You think you can defeat me and my soldiers? Human, I hate to break it to you, but you shall never win. "

Ignoring the chuckles from Sans as he watched, I let my hand fall to my side, slowly taking a few steps back, "You are going to regret this, great soldier. My people, attack!"

Turning around and sprinting to my fort, I dove over the top and rolled. Ducking down, I gather my snowballs, ready to attack at any moment as the snowballs began to fly.

As two of my people fell, I stood strong, beginning to aim and throw the ammunition. When my second in command got hit though, AKA Monster Kid, things got serious. As soon as Monster Kid and I had a moment where I cradled him in my arms, I turned into a serious and passionate leading officer. Grabbing as much ammunition as I could, I ran at Papyrus' fort, evading the snowballs that were now all aimed at me. Throwing my snowballs, my aim was fatal as I took down soldier after soldier on Papyrus' team , ready to avenge my people.

As I was about to take down Papyrus once and for all though, Sans appeared by his side, using his magic to throw multiple snowballs at me at once, forcing me to draw back.

Grinning, Sans turned to his brother, "'sup bro. looked like you needed some help. "

Retreating to my base, my team made more ammunition, as I playfully glared at Sans and Papyrus, "Cheaters! Magic is an unfair advantage, and must be forbidden!"

Getting a shit-eating grin on his face, Sans used more magic to throw more snowballs, "Oh really? well, the rules don't apply to me."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I yelled back to Sans, "Says who?!"

Sans shrugged, "says me."

Getting much more serious as Sans had joined Papyrus' team, I ducked down and called a few of the others to me.

Clearing my throat, I spoke quietly as the others fought on, "Okay, so here's the plan. I'm going to go down the middle once again, and I'll charge straight on to feign that I'm going after Papyrus. While I do that, Papyrus and Sans will have their focus on me, so you guys are going to swoop in from the sides, and get behind them as much as possible. when you do that, attack, but leave Sans to me. Got it?"

Getting the affirmatives, I gathered my ammunition, ready to run. Giving each of my soldiers a look, we took off, putting our plan into action. Heading straight down the middle of the battlefield, I caught Sans' eye, smirking as I feigned going for Papyrus. When Sans realized what was happening, he used his magic to direct each of his snowball attacks towards me, ready to take me down. Evading skillfully, I managed to dodge every single attack, almost right up on their base.

As I got there, I pretended to throw my snowballs at Papyrus, but changed direction last minute, hitting and taking down Sans as he stood there wide-eyed and dumbfounded. Once Sans was down, taking down the rest of the team was easy, since my soldiers had managed to follow the plan and succeed. As my team erupted into cheers, I only laughed at the looks on both Sans and Papyrus' faces.

Once I was done with my little laughing fit, I held out my hand for them to shake, "Okay, okay, can we call a truce now? I'm hungry and cold."

Laughing, both of the brothers shook my hand, before beginning the walk back to the house.

As I tagged along behind everyone though, everything changed in front of my eyes, a thousand images flashing in front of my eyes.

.

 _Smoke rose from the streets as vehicles were destroyed and bombs were dropped, destroying everything in the vicinity. Buildings were crumbling, the streets torn up; everything that had once been peaceful and beautiful, was left in chaos and destruction._

 _Undyne and her troops took down person after person, never once faltering._

 _Papyrus was faster than lightning on the battlefield, taking people down and capturing others before they could even blink._

 _Alphys sent her drones out onto the field with us, providing some air support as we advanced forward._

 _I was leading the whole army, taking over every part of the city that we could._

 _Slamming people into the ground with my magic, striking others down with my sword, and shooting others with my gun. I didn't stop. Not when they begged, not when they surrendered, and not when they screamed for help._

 _I left everything behind in ruins, taking life after life, spilling blood and more blood each day._

 _Looking down at my hands, I found that they were coated with dried blood and gritty with dirt._

 _And I smiled._

.

Breathing heavily, I put a hand to my head, running my fingers through my hair.

I had started a war.

I killed people...

Forcing my feet to move, I caught up to Sans and Papyrus, putting a smile on my face.

Catching up, I heard Papyrus speaking to Sans, "Nyehehe, Human Frisk must teach us her strategies so we can become better with our battles! Isn't that right, Human?"

With the smile on my face, I only shrugged, "I dunno, I just acted like I was going after you when my true intention was to take down Sans. Which, _how_ did I do that? Sans is like, the professional dodger, so I don't know how I hit him."

Sans shrugged as well, "just as lost as you are, kid. now, can we get inside the house? i'm starvin' and chilled down to the bone."

While Papyrus groaned at Sans' horrible pun and hurried inside, a slight chuckle escaped me, before I followed Papyrus inside.

As I entered the house, the warmth emanating from the house had taken away the chill that I had gotten from the winter weather. But as much as I loved being warm, I did not enjoy the wet clothing being on my body.

When Sans shut the door behind him, I turned to him, a sheepish grin on my face, "I really hate to bother you, but, uh, my clothes are soaked and I don't have anything else to change into. Do you think that I could, um, maybe borrow some clothes until mine dry?"

After a moment, Sans smiled and ruffled up my hair, "sure kid. c'mon, follow me, we'll find ya somethin'."

Tagging along behind Sans, I followed him up to his room.

As he pushed the door open, he gave me a slightly embarrassed grin, "sorry for the mess kid, i don't usually have enough time to lean up. anywho, let's get ya some clothes."

Looking around Sans' room, I found that there were clothes and papers all other, with a small trash tornado to the side. It looked like a huge mess, but I knew that it only looked huge due to the clothes and papers being scattered.

Sans pulled out a pair of his iconic gym shorts and white t-shirt, handing them over to me, "'kay kid, there ya go. i don't have anything smaller, so if it's a bit big, we'll just make some adjustments."

Smiling, I turned to leave, "Thanks, Sans. I'll go try them on quick."

Making my way to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me, I began to strip from my clothes, quickly putting on the shorts and shirt that Sans had given me, finding it surprising to find that they fit me pretty good. The shorts were a little bit loose, but they could be tightened.

Walking out of the bathroom, I bumped right into Papyrus, who had been coming to see what 'had taken so long'.

As the tall skeleton looked down at me, his face lit up and I swear he had little hearts in his eyes as he picked me up, "SANNSSS! Look at how adorable the human is! It looks like they're playing dress up as you!"

Sans arrived to the bottom of the stairs, looked up at me and Papyrus, and just burst out laughing.

Biting my lip, I looked down at myself, "Oh come on, it's not that big!"

Sans wiped a tear from his eye, still snickering, "uh kid, look at yourself. you're drowning in fabric. c'mon, we can find something better. grillby might have somethin' left over from his kid."

Wriggling out of Papyrus' arms, I crossed my arms, "No. I'm keeping it on. The shirt can be adjusted."

Papyrus looked at Sans, his eyes wide, "Can she keep it on Sans, please? She looks like the most adorable Human I've ever seen! And she's the _only_ human I have ever seen!"

Sans, unable to say no to his brother, sighed, "yeah, okay kid, you can keep it on. ...but that doesn't mean i'm gonna stop teasin' ya for it. you're like a little kid, getting into the big kids' things."

Sticking my tongue out, I uncrossed my arms, tightening the shirt and tying it near the bottom, "Here, is this better? It's not as big now, so I'm not 'swimming in fabric.'"

As Sans looked at my adjustment, I thought a I saw a light tint of blue dust his cheeks momentarily, before he shook his head, "uh, yeah, nope. untie it. it looks too tight, and it makes you look older than ya are."

Frowning slightly, I groaned , "Fiinnee. But you cannot tease me about it, or else I'll just hop right back into my soaking clothes, and I'll get sick."

Chuckling, Sans ruffled my hair once I was down the stairs, "sure kid, whatever ya say."

* * *

After dinner, I had gone to Grillby's, telling Sans that I would be home later.

Marching right up to the bar counter and sitting down, I put my head in my hands, groaning.

Grillby set a chocolate milkshake in front of me, before going back to cleaning his glass, "What is wrong?"

Looking up at Grillby, I frowned, "Well apparently I was wrong about not feeling anything or having any of the same emotions from the last timeline, because I obviously freaking do now. Not only that, but how the hell am I supposed to concentrate when all that I did in the last run, is stare at a stupid freaking person and think about how amazing he is?! Because apparently those were extremely important memories, and I keep reliving those memories in my mind, even though I don't want to!"

I snatched the milkshake from the counter, gulping half of it down in one go, ignoring the brain freeze afterward.

Grillby had frozen during my rant, but was now back to normal, setting down the glass he was cleaning, "Okay, is this about who I think it is?"

Chugging the rest of my milkshake, I put my head in my hands miserably, "I'm pretty sure I was the one who loved Sans in the last run. So yeah, it's about who you think it's about."

Sighing Grillby gently patted my head, "There there, it will all be okay. We'll figure something out."

Giving Grillby a small smile, I bit my lip, "Yeah, I know. But Grillbs, that's not the only reason I came here."

Raising an eyebrow, Grillby set some milk down in front of me, "Oh? Well what else is bothering you?"

Looking down at my hands, the image in front of my eyes flashed from my normal hands to blood-covered ones, "...The... The war."

Grillby dropped his glass , the sound silencing the entire establishment. After a moment, Grillby picked up the pieces of the broken glass, grabbing a towel to wipe his hands, "Oh. When did the flashbacks come?"

Taking a sip of my milk, I dug my nails into my highs, "During a snowball fight. Well, after a snowball fight. It... It wasn't very nice."

Grillby set the towel down for the last time, coming around the counter, directing his voice towards everyone else in the establishment, "Okay everybody, I'm closing up the restaurant early tonight. " After hearing the groans from numerous customers, Grillby's voice got a sharper edge to it, "Time to go home, everybody. The restaurant is closing right now."

Once the customers had cleared out, it was just me and Grillby left alone.

Grillby sat down next to me, a gentle hand covering mine on the counter, "Tell me about it."

Feeling my lip begin to quiver, and tears pricking painfully at the corners of my eyes, I took a deep breath.

My voice coming out shaky, I explained, "It— the blood— There was dust everywhere. Screaming. " The tears fell from my eyes as continued on, "And I was the one who had started it all. With my weapons and magic, I— I—" Taking a shaky, choked breath, I wiped my tears furiously.

Clearing my throat, my voice came out thickly, "I killed people. I destroyed families, I tore them apart. I got people—our people, their people— killed in cold blood. I destroyed an entire city for God's sake!" Feeling a strong hatred begin to rise—a hatred for myself—I looked up at Grillby, "Why did I do that? Why? What was wrong with me? What the hell was wrong with me?!"

Quickly realizing what was going on, Grillby tightened his grip on my hand, "Hey, stop that, please, young one. You are a completely different person from who you used to be. This is a new run. You're past choices will not define you, okay? Don't hate yourself because of something that was out of control. " After a few moments of silence, Grillby smiled a bit, "You know what? I can already tell that you're a better person than the old Frisk. Do you know why?"

As I looked up at the flame monster, he continued, "Because you know that what happened was wrong, and you desperately want to change that. You would do anything to change that. You care enough, to change that. She didn't. She just kept going, no matter the consequences. You wouldn't do that."

Giving the flame monster a wobbly smile, I wiped my tears, "Thanks, Grillby."

The flame monster embraced me in a hug, holding me tight.

"You're welcome, child."


	8. Chapter 8: The Teleporter

Chapter 8: The Teleporter

Groaning in frustration, I fell onto my back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling, "I just can't make anything of these symbols. What am I going to do, Chara? I can't just go up to Sans and be like, 'Oh hey, I know I told you that I'd figure things out and answer your questions, but I can't figure out these symbols. So whoops, guess I can't help after all.'"

Chara only grumbled at my groaning, "Well maybe if you were productive, it wouldn't have taken you a week to realize that we need to go back to the lab."

Taking a deep breath, I calmed my rising frustration, "Okay, you're right. But now that it's taken so long, Alphys has locked herself in her lab, working on some sort of project. We also barely have any time to look at this stuff since Sans and Papyrus come home throughout the day. So, what do we do?"

Biting my lip, I looked over the papers I had grabbed, once again. Sans might know... but I couldn't ask him. It seemed too personal and like it was too much to ask _him_ for something he had asked _me_ to help with.

As I continued to stare at the symbols, I gasped, "Wait, Chara, I—I've seen these symbols before!"

Chara snickered, "Um, yeah, when we got the papers. You okay Frisk? You're going kinda crazy."

Glaring at the papers, I responded to Chara, "Hardy-har, that was hilarious. I'm serious, Chara! I've seen these before we even went into the lab. I think it was from the last timeline."

Looking over them, Chara began to talk excitedly, "Yeah, those were in one of your memories. Now we actually have a sort of lead! But, uh, you might wanna put the papers away; Sans and Papyrus are almost home."

Shoving all of my papers in my inventory, I hopped onto the couch, turning on the TV and pretending to watch Mettaton perform.

The door opening and closing quickly, Sans plopped down on the couch, already beginning to drift off to sleep. On the other hand though, Papyrus immediately went to the kitchen, ready to prepare dinner.

Looking at Sans momentarily, I smiled as he was already deep in sleep.

Grabbing my blanket, I covered Sans up so he didn't get cold, and then joined Papyrus in the kitchen.

Giving the skeleton a quick hug before he got to work, I asked him a question, "Welcome home Papyrus! Before you get to work on dinner, can I ask you something?" Getting an affirmative from the skeleton, I continued, "I was just wondering if we had like, a basement or attic or something. Do you know if we do?"

Papyrus slowed his movements as he began cooking, before picking back up the pace again, "I do believe so; the door should be to the left of the house. Why do you ask, Human?"

Shrugging, I stole a pepperoni from Papyrus' platter, "Just curious I guess. Well, I gotta go Paps, I'll be back real soon though. Bye!"

As I ran out of the house, Papyrus raised a fist in mock anger, "Human! You stole my beef and pork sausage seasoned with pepper! I was going to use that for the pasta! How could you commit such horrible acts?!"

Laughing, I quickly stuck my tongue out at Papyrus, before closing the door and walking around to the other side of the house.

Quickly losing my smile, I walked around the house, finding the door that was supposed to lead to the basement.

Biting my lip, I hesitantly reached for the doorknob, "If it's locked, we're going to have to find another way to get in, Chara."

My hand grasping the cold metal knob, I began to turn it clockwise, releasing a breath that I didn't know I had been holding as the door opened.

Quickly stepping inside, I flipped a light switch before closing the door behind me.

Looking around, the basement wasn't all that big. It had a counter with cabinets, a desk, and a sheet draped over something in the corner.

Crossing over to the counter, I wiped a streak of dust away, before grabbing some papers and shaking the dust off of them.

The papers had the same symbols on them that I had been trying to figure out, but also just regular old writing. Scanning the writing, I didn't understand much, since it was mostly formulas and theories and such, but I got an inkling of what was happening. Biting my lip, I crouched down, opening some cabinets, only to find more stacks of papers.

Sighing, I sat down on the floor, "Well Chara, it looks like we night be here for a little while. Wanna help me out here?"

As Chara began speaking, a figure flickered right next to me, before fully appearing, "Yeah, I can get started on this section of the cabinet, while you start on that one. " Turning to me, Chara gave me a small smile, "Sound good Frisk?"

Eyes wide, I looked at Chara's spectral form, "Um, yeah that sounds good... How are you doing that?"

Raising an eyebrow, Chara turned away, not noticing that I was looking directly at her, "Doing what, Frisk? Talking?"

Turning my body towards her, I shook my head, "No, Chara, how are you making yourself appear? Have you been able to do this this entire time?"

Eyes widening, Chara turned her head back to me, a smile playing on her lips, "Wait, wait, what? You— You can see me? " When I nodded, Chara laughed as she ran a hand through her hair, "Oh, oh that is incredible! You can see me, without having to be in the void! You can—" Clearing her throat, Chara looked at the papers in the cabinet, "Okay, excitement aside, what are we looking for?"

Smiling, I nodded, before turning back to my section of the cabinet, "We should look for something that can help us decipher the symbols. Now, if Sans can understand these symbols, does that mean that he had to learn them and has some sort of key for when he started learning? Or did he already know these symbols and their meanings?"

Shrugging, Chara shuffled through some of the papers, "I don't know. You know the comedian better than me, so you should know if he's as organized as that or if he knew them already."

Rolling my eyes, I set the papers in my hands down, getting up and crossing over to whatever was hidden behind the sheet in the corner. Pulling the sheet off, I revealed the machine sitting under it, looking unfinished.

Looking over to the curious ghost behind me, I bit my lip, "This machine is what's supposed to bring Gaster back, I think. But it seems like Sans just... gave up, after a while. When I was reading those papers on the counter, there was a lot of sciency stuff, but I got the idea that to get Gaster back, a powerful soul was needed. And when Sans realized that he couldn't find a powerful enough soul, he gave up on the idea of saving Gaster. "

After a moment of silently assessing the machine, Chara came up beside me, "Well, you should get back inside the house. supper's probably almost done. "

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at the ghost, "What about you? Aren't you coming with?"

Shaking her head, Chara glided back over to the stack of papers we were gonna be going through, "Nah, I think I'll stay down here and look through these papers. Give us a sort of a head start, yeah? Anyways, you go enjoy being alive, I'll just be down here. " After a moment, Chara gave me a smile, "I'll give a yell for you if I find anything. Okay?"

Returning Chara's smile, I nodded, "Okay. And I'll give you a holler if I realize anything. I'll see ya in a bit Chara."

Quickly exiting the basement, I made my way back inside the house, relishing the warmth of it.

Slipping my shoes off, I made my way to the kitchen, where Papyrus was setting plates out.

Sitting down, a smile made it's way onto my face.

Seeing my smile, Papyrus smiled as well, "Ah, Human, you're back! What makes you smile like that?"

Shrugging I took a sip of the water Papyrus had given me, "I'm just happy, I guess. Oh hey, do you need help with anything else before dinner is served?"

Shaking his head, Papyrus happily gave me my serving of pasta salad, before scooping some onto his and Sans' plates, "No Human, you are our guest in this house! You don't need to help out; we can tend to things here!"

Biting my lip, I grabbed my fork and stabbed some of my salad, "But I can help too! Just because I'm a guest doesn't mean I can't help out!"

Adamant, Papyrus shook his head again, before sitting down, "No Human, I insist! You are young, and should not be helping out when you can be doing other things!"

Taking a small bite of the pasta salad, I shrugged, "I don't know Papyrus, there's not much I can do down here. But, if you insist, then I guess I'll comply."

Yeah, no, I'm definitely helping out without them knowing.

Taking another bite of pasta, I almost choked when a hand clamped down on my shoulder, scaring the life out of me. Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I found Sans standing there, a grin on his face.

With a forced laugh, the skeleton's grin got a bit tighter, "heya kiddo, i need to have a word with you quick."

Confused, I fully turned my body towards Sans, "What do you mean?"

Sans took a deep breath, before grabbing my hand and leading me to the living room, leaving a confused Papyrus in the kitchen.

The hint of a blush that was on my cheeks—due to Sans holding my hand—faded once I saw how serious Sans seemed to be.

Digging my nails into my thumb, I broke the silence, "Did— Did I do something wrong?"

A dry laugh escaping from him, Sans turned on me, his glare deadly, "yes, frisk, you _did_ do something wrong. just—just tell me something. when i trust you, when i have a vulnerable moment with you, why do you decide to go sneaking around behind my back?"

My eyebrows furrowing, I crossed my arms, "Sans, what are you talking about? When have I gone sneaking behind your back?"

Sans took another deep breath, remaining calm, "oh, i dunno kid, how about when you snuck into the doc's lab to grab _this_? huh?"

Throwing a folder at me, I winced when I saw that it was his file from the lab, describing the DT experiments.

Holding the file loosely in my hands, I turned to Sans, who had his back to me, my voice quiet, "I was going to tell you about that. I swear, I was going to tell you Sans. I just—"

Losing his composure, Sans whirled around on me, "you were going to tell me? really, frisk? _that's_ your excuse?" Ripping his file out of my hands, Sans began heading back to the kitchen, "do me a favor next time frisk. don't mess with things that a child like you could _never_ understand. got it?"

Tears welling up in my eyes as I tried not to flinch at his anger and sudden movements, I nodded as Sans was walking towards the kitchen, not seeing my break in composure.

Biting my lip, I quickly slipped my shoes on, before slipping out of the house.

Running, I made it to the Ruins in record time, my lungs burning with the winter air of Snowdin.

Banging on the Ruins door, more tears slipped from my eyes, slowing down as they froze on my cheeks.

When the door to the Ruins ended up opening, a small sob escaped from my lips as I threw my arms around Toriel, burying my face in her fur.

Arms immediately going around me, Toriel slowly backed us into the Ruins, closing the door behind us.

Her voice soft and gentle, Toriel rubbed soothing circles into my back, "My child, please, calm down, tell me what's wrong. Are you okay? What happened?"

Taking a shaky breath, I pulled away from Toriel slightly, looking up at her through the blur of tears, "Can I... stay here tonight? Maybe for a little while after tonight too?"

Giving me a gentle smile, Toriel took my hand in hers, leading me up to the house, "Of course, my child. You can stay for however long you would like."

* * *

It had been about two weeks since I had left Sans and Papyrus' house in Snowdin to be with Toriel.

I missed being with the skelebros, but I just didn't feel like I could face Sans yet.

In fact, that's what Chara had been discussing with me lately.

"I just don't see why you had to run to Mom about it. It's a small fight, Frisk. You should have dealt with it on your own instead of being such a crybaby."

Looking over at Chara, who was laying upside down on the other bed in the room, I frowned.

Going back to my writing, I spoke quietly, "Maybe... It's just— All of my life, when trying to deal with my problems, it always turned back on me in the end. I have never been able to speak back to someone and explain my side of the story, without getting hurt."

Drifting over to sit with me, Chara was quiet for a moment before speaking, "Yeah, I guess that's understandable. But you know that unless we go back to Snowdin and deal with it, we won't make any progress with getting Gaster back."

Throwing my notebook across the room, I brought my knees up to my chest, "He said he didn't want me snooping in his business anymore. So why should I bring his dad back for him? It's just... whatever."

After a moment, Chara put a hesitantly comforting hand on my shoulder, her voice soft, "Hey, what's wrong?" Seeing my hesitance, Chara gave me a small smile, "C'mon Frisk, just tell me. I'm a ghost, so no one's gonna here anything from me."

Sighing, I pulled my knees even closer to me, "Sans said something about how I shouldn't mess with things that I 'could never understand'... Except I do understand." My eyes burning, I rubbed them hard, "I understand way too well what he thinks I don't understand."

Eyebrows furrowing, Chara looked me over, "But Sans was talking about the experiments that were— _No_." Eyes widening, Chara clenched her hands into fists by her side, "No, Frisk, don't say it, please."

Running a hand through the freaky-fast growing hair of mine, I laughed a little bit, "Yeah, well, let's just say that Sans got off a lot easier than I did." After a few moments of tense silence, I blew some air out from between my lips, "Well, we should probably get back to work soon."

Biting her lip, Chara was about to ask me something else, before deciding otherwise, "Okay. Are we going to head back to Snowdin then? Make up with Sans?"

Shaking my head, I pulled my shoes on, grabbing my notebook and pencil, "No. I don't want to see Sans until I get his dad back here. We'll go to Mettaton's."

Trailing behind me as I made my way to Toriel, Chara voiced her hesitance, "But what if Sans doesn't want Gaster to come back after what he did?"

Biting my lip, I shrugged, "Sans went into that experiment willingly. Whatever negative effects have resulted because of those experiments, he has dealt with. Maybe he's angry at himself for getting into that experiment. Maybe he's mad at Gaster. We'll just have to wait and see."

Heading to the kitchen, I found Toriel, humming as she baked a butterscotch and cinnamon pie.

Hesitantly, I pulled on her sleeve, "Hey Toriel?" Getting a 'hmm?' from Toriel, I continued, "I need to go back to Hotland. I have a friend who needs some help, and he's expecting me to be there soon."

Frowning at first, Toriel turned her frown into a small smile as she wiped her hands on her apron, "Okay my child, I'll send you off in a moment. Now, let's get this pie ready for your journey." Delicately wrapping the b-scotch pie in a cloth and then setting it in a basket, Toriel presented the pie to me, "There, my child, now you're all set."

Taking the pie, I smiled, before giving Toriel a big hug, "Thanks, Mom."

A wobbly smile on her face as I pulled away, the monster wiped at her eyes, "You called me mother? If that is what you wish my child, then I won't stop you. Now go, go help your friend. Just be sure to visit, okay?"

Nodding, I began to head back to the rest of the Underground,"I promise, Mom."

* * *

"Darling, you can't just hide out from that little skeleton. You'll need to make up with him sometime."

Pouring over the papers Chara had somehow retrieved from Sans' basement, I waved a dismissive hand to Mettaton, "I will, but this is more important."

Crossing over to me, Mettaton grabbed a paper out of my hands before I could even react, "Wing Dings? Darling, how have you even learned to read this?"

Straightening up, I raised an eyebrow at Mettaton, "Wait a minute, you can read this?" When Mettaton nodded, I looked down at the papers I had been reading, before looking back at him, "How?"

Mettaton pulled a chair up, sitting next to me, "Well Darling, this body that Alphys built is also like a computer. If she programmed it, I can read or understand it." Glancing down at the paper again, Mettaton then gave it back to me, "Does this have to do with your argument with that skeleton?"

Biting my lip, I nodded slowly, "Yeah. ... Excuse me for asking, but why are you so interested in this?"

Mettaton gave me a small smile, "I understand how important family is. I know that those skeletons consider you family by now. So, Darling, I will help you figure out this dilemma of yours. Now, where should we start?"

I smiled slightly, before giving a shake of my head and frowning, "I want to trust you Mettaton, so how can I know that I can?"

Mettaton sighed, holding out his pinky finger, "Darling, I promise that I won't tell another being about this little project of yours. And if I do, then you can break this pinky here."

Unable to stop the smile this time, I hooked my pinky with Mettaton's, "Okay, I guess this'll do. Now, I can give you the gist of this, or I can go into painful detail. Which would you prefer?"

Putting on a pair of reading glasses, Mettaton grabbed some papers, looking over them, "You can go into as much detail as you want darling, but chances are that I'll be able to comprehend all of this information faster than you. Remember, with this body, my brain is like a supercomputer."

Rolling my eyes, I picked up another paper, ready to study it, "Okay, Mr. Know-it-all, I just thought you might like some background information."

Setting down his papers, Mettaton moved on to four more, quickly reading through them, "No need Darling, I already know what was trying to be done here. This is like a teleporter of some sort. Whoever made this, clearly wants to teleport something, or maybe even someone. But it's not quite the dematerialisation and reconstruction of science fiction. This machine is more like a printer that relies on destructive scanning and 3D printing. Darling, I do hope that this is a rough draft of sorts, and that this machine isn't already built."

Biting my lip, I scooted closer to Mettaton, looking at the papers he had, "Why? What's wrong?"

Mettaton 'tsked', before setting the papers down and looking at me over his glasses, "Because with the way this is set up, it would mill an object down layer by layer, creating a scan per layer, and it would then replicate the original object layer by layer, 'teleporting' it from one place to another. This would make a copy of the original object. So, this teleporter can be used on objects, but if it were to be used on another living being? Darling, we might as well just start over if this thing is already built."

Leaning back in my chair, I ran a hand through my already shoulder length hair, "So I'm pretty much screwed. God, I never should've gotten involved in stuff like this."

Mettaton put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Frisk, Darling, don't get so worked up. We can make a working teleporter, okay? Yes, it may take some time, and it will be difficult, but we can do this. This is all for that little skeleton, right?"

Taking a deep breath, I nodded, "Right. I just— I never thought Sans would create something with the knowledge that it couldn't possibly work on a living person."

Mettaton shrugged, "Well Darling, your reaction when I told you it can't be used on a living being already tells me that he wants to bring someone to him. Who is it that he wants to desperately to be a part of his life again?"

Beginning to put all of the papers into a folder, I was quiet, "It's his father. But— Oh boy, this might be a lot to explain." Mettaton gave me a look, telling me to go on, "Well, his father was the last Royal Scientist, Dr. Gaster. The thing is though, whatever incident happened in that lab, royally screwed things up. You see, something ended up happening to Gaster, and he got stuck in this sort of... Void, is what I call it. And in the Void, you're existing, but you're also... not, at the same time. For example, Gaster can see everything going on in this world, and maybe even others, but he can't interfere or interact with anyone. He can only sit and watch, in the darkness."

Mettaton was silent for a moment, before getting out some papers and pencils, "Okay Darling, so the goal is to get this person back into existence, and have everyone be happy, right? Well, the teleporter's computer is going to need to be able to pinpoint and analyze all of the atoms and magic and such that make up a monster's body. This machine would then need to send the information to our location, where another teleporter would reconstruct Gaster's body with exact precision. And since this will require two teleporters, we'll need to find a way to get one to Gaster's location."

Taking a paper and pencil, I began sketching out a basic blueprint of the teleporter, "Well I can do that. I can access the Void, and I can begin construction there, while you work here."

Nodding in agreement, Mettaton also took some paper to begin a list of materials, "Yes Darling, that is fantastic. Now, this teleporter will be similar to the last one, and it would work more like a fax machine— a duplicate of Gaster would be at the receiving end, but that would mean that with this machine, we'd be committing an act of murder yet creation at the same time, since we can't just use magic to teleport the Doctor."

A smile forming on my face, I turned to Mettaton excitedly, "But what if we could?" Getting a questioning look from Mettaton, I continued on hurriedly, "We— I mean, I've been to the true lab at Alphys' a few times, and one of those times we found a machine that required a human's soul to fully function. What if I could somehow use some of my Determination, or any magic that I have, and incorporate it into this teleporter?"

Smiling slightly, Mettaton jotted my idea down, "Yes, Darling, while that is a brilliant idea, we also have to be sure that no nasty side effects come with that idea. Otherwise, I would be all for it. But moving on; For the construction of the teleporter, we could take apart and use old parts from the previous teleporter, and then work from there."

Listing down our ideas, I also jotted down some things that I could research, "Thank you so much Mettaton, I really appreciate. Now, we just need to get everything and get to work."

As I got up to head to my room in the MTT Resort, Mettaton's hand fell onto my shoulder, "Frisk, Darling, I know you want to dive into this, but we can't just yet."

Confused, I sat back down, "Why not? We already have a pretty good start."

Mettaton raised an eyebrow, "Do I really have to spell it out for you? You have to make up with that little skeleton of yours before we do anything else."

Eyes widening, I shook my head, "I can't, Sans hates me!"

Frowning, Mettaton crossed his arms, "Darling, you haven't seen him in over a month now. You hid with your mother for two weeks, and you've been with me for an additional three. You don't know how he feels right now. Yes, there is a big possibility that he is quite upset with you. But, Darling, there is also the possibility that those skeletons miss you dearly."

Biting my lip, I began braiding a piece of my hair, "But... You know what, you're right. I guess I'm just— I get scared very easily. And getting scared easily makes me a big baby, but it's true. When someone's angry, or I think they're angry, I'm just scared that they'll— that they'll hurt me."

His frown deepening, Mettaton set a gentle hand on my knee, "Darling, Sans and Papyrus, they won't hurt you. And I know that those words may be hollow or useless, but it's true. No one down here is going to hurt you. Especially now, when you've begun to capture our hearts."

Straightening out my hair, I gave Mettaton a weak smile, "I know. I'm not trying to be so troublesome, but it's just... hard, I guess. I'm not used to any of this, and I don't know how people down here will lash out when they're angry. Will someone just yell at me, or will they hit me? Am I actually safe here, or is this some sort of illusion?"

Mettaton gave me an understanding look, before looking back at the papers in front of him, "Darling, you can stay for another week, maximum. We can figure some things out, make a better plan, and maybe even get to work. But, after that last week, you are going to go back to Snowdin, and you are going to make up with Sans. Okay?"

Feeling slightly relieved, I nodded, "Okay. So now, we get to work on that teleporter."

* * *

 **Hello all of my lovely readers, yes, I know.**

 **This chapter is late, and instead of being posted on Sunday, it's now being posted today.**

 **Sorry about this sort of wacky update, but it's my spring break, and I'm going to Arkansas to be with some family!**

 **Because of my spring break though, I will not be posting this Sunday, but instead next Sunday, which is the main reason why I'm posting on a Wednesday in the middle of the week.**

 **I hope you guys can be patient until my spring break is over for some more chapters!**

 **Until Next Time~**


	9. Chapter 9: Home

Chapter 9: Home

"Okay Darling, tell me today's plan again."

I chewed on my lip, before going over everything again, "I'm going to help you begin the start of the first teleporter, and then I'm going to go get another haircut, I'm gonna pack my stuff, and then... I'll go back to Snowdin."

Crossing his arms, Mettaton raised a brow, "And?"

Digging my nails into my thumbs, I hesitated, "And, and I'll talk to Sans."

Smiling, Mettaton hooked his arm through mine, dragging me with to Alphys' lab, "Fantastic, Darling! Now, we should get to work so you can get home before dinner."

Biting my lip, I followed Mettaton as we quickly made our way through Hotland, "But Mettaton, what if they don't want me back anymore? What if they never wanted me back? I don't think—"

Mettaton glanced at me, his smile slightly faded, "Darling, do tell me you're joking."

I looked up at Mettaton, before quickly glancing to the lava below the walkway, "I dunno, it's just— I feel like a piece of work, and just a heavy burden in general. I didn't really help out much when I lived there, so they probably don't want me to stay."

Mettaton sighed, taking my hand in his reassuringly, "Frisk, what in your right mind makes you think that they would just abandon you like that? Those skeletons don't seem like the type to just leave someone out in the cold. Besides, I thought we went over this; you're becoming family to everyone down here."

I was quiet for a moment, before biting my lip, my voice quiet, "And what if I don't know what family is like?"

Giving my hand a tight squeeze, Mettaton continued walking, making me match his pace, "Then we'll teach you what family is. Now, will you stop fretting?

Chewing on my lip, I paused momentarily, before opening my mouth again, "But—"

Mettaton cut me off, pulling me into Alphys' lab, "There is no room in this lab for any 'but's. The only thing there is room for in here, is genius creativity. Now, let's get started on that machine, shall we?"

A small smile on my lips, I nodded.

* * *

"Okay Darling, your hair is cut, you have your things, and we're in Snowdin. Now, get inside that house and make up with that skeleton."

I took a step toward the house, before taking three quick steps back, "I—I—This is a bad idea, we should just go back to the lab and work on that teleporter."

Mettaton put a gentle hand on my shoulder, "Frisk, you can't avoid him forever. He's probably over this silly little fight, and he probably misses you. And the tall one; Papyrus definitely misses you."

I began to bite my lip, but caught myself, trying to break the habit, "Okay. I just— I don't know. I'm just scared, I guess. I've never done anything like this before. All I've ever done is apologize and wait."

Sighing, Mettaton put his hands on my shoulders, his eyes meeting mine, "Frisk, you're life on the Surface was something that you didn't deserve at all. We know that you weren't treated very well. But Darling, you're going to have to let that go sometime. I know it will be hard, but you can overcome this, and you will see that down here, you are loved so very much." After a moment, Mettaton continued on, "And because I know how hard it can be, we can go back to the lab, if you want."

Biting my lip, I shook my head, "No, you're right. I need to make up with Sans and work on moving forward."

A gentle smile working onto his face, Mettaton gave my cheek a small pinch, "That's my little star. Now, I'll let you go on in, and I'll head home. If you need anything, just call, okay?"

Nodding, I watched as Mettaton gave me a bright smile, and began to head back to Hotland.

Taking a deep breath, I went up to the house door, and slowly opened it, my eyes already beginning to scan the rooms for the skeletons.

When I found no one inside of the house, I felt the tension leave my body, quickly shutting the door behind me as I stepped inside.

Feeling Chara's presence, I took a poke at talking to her, since she had been so quiet lately. My voice sounded strange in the silent house, as I talked to seemingly nothing, "What's been bothering you? You've been unusually quiet lately."

Chara's ghostly figure appeared in front of me, her arms crossed and a small frown on her lips, "I dunno."

A small smile playing on my lips, I gave a sort of shrug, "Hey, everyone will think I'm crazy if I say I can talk to ghosts, so I'm here to listen." When Chara didn't respond, I shrugged again, "Okay, it's your decision. If you want to talk at all, I'm gonna be cleaning this place; the skelebros really seem to have let themselves go..."

Beginning to pick Sans' socks up off the ground, I heard Chara take in a breath as if she was going to say something, but then she closed her mouth. Ignoring her, I continued picking up, planning to get the place picked up before I started vacuuming or sweeping and mopping.

After about 15 minutes, when I had finally found the vacuum jammed into a closet in the farthest corner of the kitchen, Chara let out a big sigh.

Turning around to face her, I saw what I thought were tears in her eyes, her voice quiet as she spoke, "When you sleep, and you have those memories come back to you, I see them too, as you know." Tightening her grip on her arms, she turned away from me, "Frisk, I was a monster."

Eyes widening, I left the vacuum over by the closet, crossing over to the girl, "Chara—What—No, you were not a monster. Why would you think something like that?"

Clenching her fists at her side, Chara remained turned away from me, "Those _Runs_. The Genocide Runs. _I_ did that. I killed everyone down here. 536 times, if I remember correctly."

Biting my lip, I shook my head, "No, Chara—"

The ghost of a girl turned on me, a pain that I knew all too well deep within her soft garnet eyes, "I killed people! I killed the hero that I admired, I killed Sans and Papyrus, I even killed my parents! So look me in the eyes, and _tell_ _me_ that I am not a—"

"If anyone is a monster here, then it's me!" Taking a ragged breath, I ignored Chara's surprised look, "I have done horrible— _atrocious_ , things. Have you not seen those memories by now? The way I relished the feeling of another person's hot blood pouring out of them and onto me? I started a _war_. I killed people for my own selfish reasons. And you haven't even seen the worst of it, Chara." Letting out a long sigh, I straightened up and got back to cleaning, "Besides, if the other Frisk was right, it really wasn't you who killed everyone. It was just someone using you."

Chara didn't say anything after that, and instead, went over and sat on the couch.

Holding the cord of the vacuum, I started it and began to vacuum the living room, noticing immediately that it had not been vacuumed in quite a long time. Quickly vacuuming the living room, the stairs, and the upstairs hallway. Once I was done doing that, I got a bucket of warm water, a clean rag, and some baking soda.

After sprinkling the baking soda over the dirtier sections of the carpet, I got the rag wet with some warm water and began scrubbing.

Seeing what I was doing, Chara sighed, standing up, "I'll work on the kitchen. Just tell me what to do."

Smiling, I continued scrubbing gently, "Clear any clutter that doesn't belong in there, wipe down the counters and clean the dishes, and then I can help organize after I'm done out here. So before I can help organize, lets clean the fridge and freezer, along with the floors and sink after the dishes are done."

Chara nodded, going into the kitchen and getting started, calling out to me after several minutes, "You know, it doesn't really make sense. How can I interact with items as well as I can?"

Shrugging, I moved on to the stairs, "Dunno, but it sure is helpful!"

After a few more minutes of cleaning, I was done with the stairs and moving on to the upstairs hallway. After that, I went and joined Chara in the kitchen, working quickly and diligently.

When I began work on the fridge, Chara began working on sweeping and mopping, "Frisk, where did you learn to clean so quickly and so good? I can't even sweep without missing a big section of the floor."

Shrugging, I put the bottom drawer back in the fridge, before shutting it, "Years of doing it I guess. Anyways, fridge wasn't so bad. What else did I say to do?"

Chara looked around the kitchen, shrugging, "Organizing, I guess."

Snapping my fingers, I smiled, "Oh yeah, that's it." Kneeling down, I opened the cupboards below the sink, "Okay, so we should start with lower cupboards, like this one with cans."

When I didn't get a response, I just assumed that Chara understood and had just gotten to work.

"Human?"

Jumping, I hit my head on the inside of the cupboard, wincing as I turned around and saw Papyrus standing there.

Giving him a weak smile, I began to speak, "Oh, hey, Papyrus. I didn't think you'd be home so soon. Anyways, I cleaned the—"

Papyrus stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me up off of the kitchen floor, "Oh Human Frisk! We missed you so much!"

I hugged Papyrus back, my voice small, "You—You did?"

Papyrus set me back down, beaming after seeing me, "Of course! It was so quiet here without you, and Sans was no fun at all, all he did was mope! He just goes to his room every night after his job of being a sentry."

Giggling, I nodded, "Yeah, he's definitely no fun when he mopes. By the way, where is he?"

At that moment, the door opened, and Sans stepped inside the house, sighing.

Crossing over to the stairs, Sans called over to Papyrus, "sorry paps, i know i said we could have a movie night, but i'm just not feeling good tonight."

Staying where I was, I crossed my arms, raising my voice so he could hear me, "Is that what your excuse has been every night?"

His feet thudding on the floor as he ran, Sans stumbled into the kitchen, and when he saw me, he crossed over and threw his arms around me. Lifting me up off my feet and spinning around, Sans let out a big sigh of relief, "geez kid, took ya long enough."

 _"Frisk," Sans breathed. He didn't even hesitate before running up to me and lifting me off my feet, spinning me around as he hugged me tight. When he pulled away, he took my face in his hands, white pinpricks taking their time as he studied my face. Then he hugged me tight again, his voice low and full of relief, "you're back. and you're safe."_

Shaking the memory out of my head, a blush was steadily taking over my face.

When Sans let go of me, I gave him a small smile, "Yeah. Look, I'm sorry, about everything. I shouldn't have been meddling, and the way I reacted after the argument was inappropriate."

Returning my small smile, Sans shook his head, "it's whatever now, kid. i'm just glad that you're home."

My smile wobbling, I bit my lip, "Home?"

"yeah, home."

* * *

 **Okay guys, this was just a sort of filler chapter for now.**

 **It's like four hours late, but it's here!**

 **Sorry about that, by the way, I've been struggling a little bit lately, and trying to remain inspired.**

 **Next week though, I will for sure have a better chapter up for you guys!**

 **Until Next Time!**


	10. Chapter 10: Growth

Chapter 10: Growth

After another three months in the Underground, Mettaton and I had gotten far with the teleporter, and expected to have it done within another three months or so.

"Look, I'm just saying, if the teleporter needs a soul to get up and running, then I won't hesitate to jump right in."

Mettaton rolled his eyes, getting up and crossing over to his desk to grab a snack, "And you know that won't work because?"

I sighed, leaving the teleporter and joining Mettaton for a break, "Because you won't let me take a _calculated_ risk."

Mettaton took a bite of his starfait, before crossing his arms and leaning onto his desk, "Darling, it can't be a calculated risk if you don't know a logical, probable outcome. For all we know, this idea of yours could fail miserably, and result in someone getting injured. So unless we can find out more, there will be no souls involved."

Shrugging, I glanced over at the teleporter, an idea already running through my head. Looking back over to Mettaton, I gave him a small smile, "I think I'm gonna have to leave you on your own for a bit, MTT. I have something else I want to check out before we can fully continue on with the project. Think you'll be able to handle being by yourself?"

Mettaton chuckled, tossing a cinnamon bunny my way, "Darling, a star like me always has things covered."

* * *

Taking a deep breath, I gently set my hand on the slightly rusted doorknob, uneasy as I began to open the white door with the peeling paint.

Slowly pushing the door opened, the mustiness of the wave of air had me stand back for a moment, before I forced my feet to take several steps forward and into the void.

Feeling Gaster begin to creep up behind me, the door closing, I felt incredibly small.

Turning around, I looked up at the former scientist, trying to ignore the dangerous glare he was giving me. To my surprise, my voice came out clear and not at all shaky, "I don't want to fight. I just want to help you get home."

Gaster seemed to be fighting the urge to attack like last time, and looked down at me as if I were a pesky little cockroach, "And ᎳhaᎢ do you ᏀaᏆn from this? How does this ᏏenᏋfᎥt you?"

I pressed my lips into a tight line, before meeting Gaster's gaze, "I gain the happiness of a friend, I hope. Nothing else. I desire nothing else."

Analyzing me, Gaster lost some of his tension, his voice finally clearing out to be the one I knew, "If I find that you were anything other than truthful with me, then there shall be dire consequences."

Smiling, I held out my hand for him to shake, "Don't worry Dr., that won't be a problem. Now, let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Frisk Saunders."

Trying to hide the disgust from his face as he looked down at my hand, Gaster crossed his arms behind his back, "Dr. W.D. Gaster, as you already know."

Taking no offense to Gaster's unwillingness to shake my hand, I let my arm drop back down to my side, "Yep, I indeed know who you are. Now, if you're anything like the old Gaster, you're able to see the world move on around you when you're in here, yes?"

Gaster gave me a slight nod, "To an extent, yes, that would be correct. I can see what you're doing with that little machine of yours, and I regret to inform you that you are doing a multitude of things incorrectly."

Crossing my arms, I looked up at the skeleton monster, "And just what would that be?"

Gaster sighed, beginning to pace already, "To begin with, some scientists believe it is not possible to transport macroscopic objects such as humans, but there may be teleportation in the microscopic world. Three possible kinds of teleportation in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics have been proposed: state teleportation, energy teleportation, and particle teleportation. Now, a quantum state of a particle could be teleported to another distant particle, but the two particles do not move at all; state teleportation. And researchers believe that quantum teleportation is the foundation of quantum calculation and quantum communication. Now— you—you didn't understand any word that just came out of my mouth, did you."

Digging my fingernails into my thumbs, I shook my head with a sheepish smile, "No, I'm sorry. I'm not as knowledgeable as you, Dr. Gaster."

Gaster's features softened hardly at all, but they did, and he sighed, "Briskly gather paper and a writing utensil. Jot down what I say, and take it to that robot to figure it out."

I brought out my small journal and pencil, giving Gaster a small smile, "I really am sorry about this, Doctor. This would go so much more faster if I had even an ounce of intelligence."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Gaster told me what I needed to know, before a moment of silence passed, "Are you trying to elicit pity from me by making those remarks? Because it will not work."

My eyes widened a fraction, before I sent my gaze back down onto what I had jotted down, "Sorry, sir, I didn't realize I was doing that."

Gaster sighed, before somewhat gently taking my journal to look over my writing, "Well, it appears you're competent enough to listen. You may leave now."

Biting my lip, I took my journal back and began walking to the door, before I stopped. I crossed back over to Gaster, opening up my journal to a new blank page, "Dr. Gaster?"

Gaster arched his nonexistent eyebrow, looking down at me, "Yes, what is it?"

Taking a small breath, I continued, "I—Well, I was wondering if—would you like me to bring anything next time? Anything you want from your lab, or maybe a snack to enjoy?"

Gaster looked taken aback, opening and closing his mouth twice without answering. After a few seconds, Gaster regained his composure, "You may leave now."

I reluctantly put my things away, and dug my fingernails into my thumbs as I made my way to the door I had come through.

What could I do to make him feel better?

* * *

Stepping out of the shower, I smiled slightly at the fogged up mirror, before wiping the mirror so I could see my reflection.

In the total of five months that I had been here now, my hair was already back to it's original length of a whopping 4 1/2 feet.

Sighing, I began to comb my hair out again, before grabbing the scissors from the cupboard, and chopping it all off again.

With my hair up to my ears, and somewhat choppy, I threw on my striped sweater and shorts, before heading out into the living room and collapsing onto the couch.

Mettaton and I had done a lot of running around today, looking for the new components for our revised teleporter plan, and had also done a lot of heavy lifting.

Blowing a puff of air out of my lips, I got back up, walking around the house a bit aimlessly since Sans and Papyrus weren't home yet.

Deciding to go ahead and clean the bathroom, I got the cleaning supplies out of the kitchen closet, and went upstairs.

Lifting the toilet lid first, I emptied three cups of vinegar into the pot and started scrubbing with the toilet brush.

After several moments of the brush scrubbing against the porcelain, I started humming, something I had done multiple times when I was home alone. I stopped humming momentarily, listening for anyone in the house, and then let myself begin to sing incredibly softly.

"Love of my life, you've hurt me," my voice seemed to boom in the bathroom. "You've broken my heart, and now you leave me. Love of my life, can't you see? Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me," I trailed off, humming the rest of the song to myself.

When I was done with the toilet, I moved on to the shower, using the same method for the tub.

Smiling to myself, I began to sing another song, more loudly than the previous, "I walked across, an empty land, I knew the pathway like the back of my hand. I felt the earth, beneath my feet, sat by the river and it made me complete. Oh simple thing, where have you gone? I'm getting tired and I need someone to rely on. I came across, a fallen tree, I felt the branches of it looking at me. Is this the place, we used to love? Is this the place that I've been dreaming of? Oh simple thing, where have you—"

"HUMAN!"

Jumping violently, I fell forward and into the bathtub, my head shooting up as I looked at Papyrus and Sans standing in the bathroom doorway.

Pushing myself up onto my feet again, I could feel my entire face turn red, "How—When did—How long have you been standing there?"

Sans grinned, leaning against the door frame, "dunno kid, just about when you started singin'?"

Papyrus rushed into the bathroom, scooping me up in his arms, "Oh Human Frisk, that was so pretty!"

"Wha—I—no, that—it—"

Sans chuckled, before turning to leave, "i'd just take the compliment kid, or else he won't stop trying to get ya to accept one."

When Papyrus finally set me down, I gave him a shy smile, mumbling, "Thank you. For saying my singing was pretty."

Papyrus beamed, taking my hand in his, "No worries tiny Human! Now, let's prepare the last meal of the day!"

* * *

"Dr. Gaster? Is it okay if I come in?"

I stepped foot into the Void, seeing Gaster gesture for me to come in.

Walking over to him, I nervously started rummaging around in my satchel, "Dr. Gaster? Last time, you just told me to leave, and I wasn't exactly sure what you would want, but, well, here." I took out the picture I had seen in the lab when Chara and I had been investigating, along with a few snacks from Snowdin.

Gaster froze when he saw the picture, and gently took it into his trembling hand, his voice soft, "Where did you get this?"

Sitting down to the goopy skeleton, I held onto the treats I had brought with me, "It was in a mess of papers, in your desk drawer. I almost missed it the first time I was looking. Why?"

The scientist looked at the photo, a fond smile resting on his face, "It has been quite a while since I've laid eyes on this. Thank you."

I felt warm inside, knowing that I had just made some progress with Gaster. After a moment, my voice came out quietly, "What's her name?"

Gaster smiled more then, "Arial. Her name was Arial. She was beautiful, wasn't she? And her smile; her smile was like the glowing sunshine. And her laugh," the skeleton chuckled before continuing, "her laugh sounded more like a lunatic, but I loved it nonetheless."

Smiling, I looked back at the picture again, seeing how lovingly Gaster was looking at Arial.

I sighed, before looking back up at Gaster, "You know, I want to love someone like that someday."

Gaster looked a little taken aback, before looking at me curiously, "You don't want someone else to love you like that?"

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I sort of smiled, "Well, yeah, I want someone else to love me like that, but I also want to love someone like that. You know?" When Gaster gave me a small nod, I smiled and held out the treats I had brought, "I brought you some snacks too. I have some spider cider, and a cinnamon bunny, and I even brought a piece of Toriel's butterscotch pie. I thought you might enjoy them."

Gaster slowly lost his smile, clearing his throat, "Well, I can't accept the offer. I am unable to eat here in the void."

I frowned slightly, before handing him the spider cider, "How do you know? I've only recently come here, and no one else has been here to supply you with food or drinks."

Gaster thought about this momentarily, before lifting the cider to his mouth, and taking a drink. Realizing that he could indeed consume edible items, Gaster lit up, "I don't know how it's possible, as science currently fails to explain this, but thank you."

I gave Gaster a small smile, "No problem. Now, I have to go for a bit, to help Mettaton with that teleporter. I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?"

Gaster returned my small smile, "I'll see you then, child."

Giving Gaster a small wave goodbye, I stepped back out into Waterfall, smiling at the quick progress I had made with Gaster.

* * *

While I was helping Papyrus with dinner, I thought about asking him if he knew anyone named Gaster, but the thought of doing so sent knots into my stomach and made me chew on my lips.

Instead, I made the question more general, "Hey Papyrus?" Getting a 'hmm?' from the skeleton, I continued on, "What were your parents like?"

Papyrus dropped the glass bowl he had been mixing batter in, jumping when the glass shattered.

Dropping to my knees, I immediately began to help him pick the glass shards up, my voice coming out slightly panicked, "I am so sorry, Papyrus, I am so so sorry."

Papyrus helped me up to my feet again, giving me a sheepish smile, "It's okay Human, I am the one who dropped the bowl in the first place."

Crossing over to the kitchen closet, I got out some paper towels to clean up the batter, feeling bad about asking about Papyrus' parents.

After I had gotten up to throw the paper towels away, Papyrus voice came from behind me, uncharacteristically quiet, "My mother was Head of the Royal Guard. She trained really hard to protect me and Sans, but she was always there for us, always patient and kind."

I chewed on my lip nervously, before asking about Gaster, "And your dad?"

Papyrus frowned slightly, something that seemed unnatural on the skeleton, "I don't know if I know him, Human Frisk. I know he was a scientist, like Sans, but I don't know. I just... can't seem to remember."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I noted to ask others about Gaster too, to see who remembered him. My voice soft, I looked up to Papyrus, "What was her name?"

Papyrus smiled then, a welcome sight on the skeleton's face, "Arial."

* * *

"Okay Dr. Gaster, we were able to find everything and get everything planned out, but it'll take at least four to five months to finish."

Gaster nodded, taking in my simple explanation.

Knowing full well that he didn't want to ask, I got out the snacks I had brought with, "I don't know what you prefer, so I just brought a variety of snacks. I got anything I could from Snowdin to Hotland, so you could choose what you want and don't want."

Gaster happily picked out a glass of spider cider, a slice of Toriel's butterscotch pie, and some crab apples.

I anxiously chewed on my lip, before blurting out what was on my mind before Gaster could take a bite of anything, "Is Papyrus your son?"

When Gaster froze, I felt my heart drop, and knew I had picked a touchy subject that was probably better left alone.

My voice came out weak now, and I wasn't sure I should continue on, "I mean, I know I shouldn't be prying, but it's confusing me and sending me in circles. In that video log, you said you had driven your only son away. But it really seems like Papyrus is your son too, since him and Sans share the same mom, and he does look quite similar to you."

Any warmth Gaster had shown towards me seemed to go out the door, the skeleton narrowing his eyes at me, "Your meddling is quite unwelcome."

I shut my mouth, knowing that I shouldn't continue on. But something seemed to be nagging at me, and I began speaking again, "I think he is your son. But you either didn't know that, or you're ashamed of him, because—"

Gaster rose from his sitting position, his voice trembling as it grew in volume, "How _dare_ you assume that I could even be remotely ashamed of my own son."

My own voice began to shake, but not from anger, "I'm sorry, it's just—I'm trying to piece some things together; make sense of things."

Hearing the fear laced within my voice, and noticing my tense posture, Gaster sank back into sitting position.

Gaster's voice came out very quietly, almost inaudibly, "I am not ashamed of Papyrus. I am ashamed of myself. I am ashamed to label myself as his father."

Steeling my nerves, I sat down next to Gaster, feeling awkward at first, but then becoming more relaxed as I ran a soothing hand up and down the scientist's back. With Gaster being this vulnerable with me, I knew that though there may still be a bit of hostility with me on certain subjects, he had practically destroyed the barrier he had put between us.

Gaster sighed, accepting the comfort I was giving, "I cannot even begin to allow myself to be called his father, for I am unworthy. My actions against Humans, a race he has come to adore, are unforgivable. I could not be a father to Sans, and therefore cannot be a father to Papyrus."

Biting my lip, I thought about what to say, "Is... Is this about those experiments?"

Gaster nodded, putting his face in his hands, exhausted, "I should have found another way. I should have told Sans no; I don't know why I would ever allow him to participate in something as foolish as those damned experiments. And those small children should—those children deserved better than the slow end I gave them."

I took my hand from Gaster's back, crawling out to be in front of him, making him look up at me. I began my small speech that I had thought about, uncertainly, haltingly, "But you regret your actions. Yes, maybe—you should have told Sans to take a step back, and should have made him sit out of the experiments. But, Sans, he went into that. Willingly." I bit my lip for a moment, before continuing, "But you—you didn't—Gaster, you didn't try to kill Sans. You didn't threaten him with brutal acts of violence, or lock him in a dark basement after beating him."

Gaster looked away from me, hiding the look of pity that had risen on his features, but still continuing on with his words, "That may be true, but I did things truly unforgivable."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I let out a frustrated noise, "Gaster, can you please just shut up? You're a good dad, okay? I mean, I don't know anything, really, about having good parents, but from what I've seen, you're a pretty damn good dad." When Gaster still didn't believe me, I took a small breath, feeling my face turn red, "Look at yourself. You feel so much remorse, and so much shame that you've convinced yourself that you are an awful father. But this guilt, this shame? It only shows me how much you want to change so your sons could have gotten the life they deserved. My father would never feel like this. He didn't feel any ounce of regret or shame when he strapped me down to a table and cut me open without any anesthesia or pain medication... You are a good father, Gaster. And you could be a great one, if you just gave yourself the chance."

"But how could I live with myself if I just ignore the problem and claim Papyrus as my son? I can't be in his life without telling him about my past. He needs to know what I've done, and then if he wants me in his life, then I'll be in his life. But with the things I have done? How I don't know anything about parenting? I don't think he'll want someone like me to even be associated with him." Gaster rambled on, saying other things under his breath as he began to think more and more.

I put a gentle hand on Gaster's arm, trying to offer some form of comfort, "This might sound weird, but I think you know at least a little bit of parenting. Because if I know something about parenting, it's that the parent always puts their child first. No matter the consequences, no matter what. And right now, you're showing me that you don't want to be in Papyrus' life not because you don't love him, but because you want what's best for him. And parents also want their children to feel safe with them, and you want to give Papyrus that option... Besides, Papyrus could never hate you. He's not that type of person. Okay, Gaster?"

Gaster was silent for a few moments, before reaching out and pulling me into his arms, his voice almost inaudible.

"Thank you."

My smile was small as Gaster hugged me, because I had made some headway with him. I had managed to get past his defenses quickly, and I saw behind that stony scientist's mask. And I felt like that had somehow strengthened a bond between us, making it easier to work and get along with.

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **I know, I haven't posted a proper update in a week. I'm sorry!**

 **And I kind of hate saying this, but I've been feeling pretty burnt out lately, and I think I may need to take a step back from writing. Not forever! Don't worry, it's just going to be a little bit of a break! At the most, it will probably be about a month, which, I know, feels like forever. But I want to take this little break so I can come up with some better content for you guys and update on time, instead of filler chapters and updates that are all janky.**

 **So for now, I'm signing off until the 16th of May (unless inspiration hits me), and I'll see you guys then.**

 **Until Next Time~**


	11. Chapter 11: The 4th Mage

Chapter 11: The 4th Mage

"hey kid, what have you been workin' on."

Glancing up from my book, I met Sans' steady gaze, before returning my attention to the book and mumbling, "What do you mean?"

Sans sat down on the couch next to me, shrugging as he switched on the TV, "you've just been out and about more and more lately. you must be working on somethin'."

I bookmarked _Fahrenheit_ _451_ , glancing over at Sans as he glanced over at me as well, "Yeah, I've been working on something with Mettaton. Why do you ask?"

Sans let a lazy smile cross his face, returning his gaze to the TV with old _I Love Lucy_ episodes, "dunno, guess i'm just curious about where you're spendin' all your time when you could be spendin' time with your favorite skeleton."

I playfully punched the skeleton in the arm, "Who said you were my favorite?"

Sans feigned hurt, looking offended, "wow frisk, am i just not good enough to be your favorite ol' bag of bones?"

I turned my body, throwing my legs up and over the back of the couch so I could sit upside down, "Calm down dummy, I never said that! Besides, you can't be my favorite 'cause I love you and Papyrus equally."

When Sans was quiet for several moments, I sat up a little bit, looking at him. When I sat up, I was met with a wide grin on the face of a very happy skeleton, who had completely lost interest in the TV.

Realizing what I had said, I could feel myself start to turn a bit red, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I had—"

Sans shushed me, still grinning, "kid, no need for apologies. but man, you couldn't wait to say something like that when paps was around? he would've tackled you by now and smothered ya with hugs."

I threw my legs back up over the back of the couch, trying to ignore my burning cheeks, "Yeah, well, I just kind of blurted it out, I guess."

Sans chuckled, but didn't say anything else, and instead went back to watching the show.

The comfortable silence between Sans and I didn't last though, because my phone started to ring.

Startled by the sudden ringing, I threw my legs around to sit up, accidentally hitting Sans.

Wincing, I gently placed a hand on the side of Sans' face where I had kicked him, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Sans looked almost dumbfounded, not processing that I had kicked him, but shook his head, "i'm fine kid, i'm fine. who's calling you?"

Looking at my phone, I found that Toriel was the one calling, and I immediately answered, "Hi mom. Why are you calling so late?"

Toriel's voice came out hurried and tense, her words not making much sense as she spoke.

I bit my lip anxiously, before interrupting Toriel as kindly as possible, "Okay mom, can you calm down? I didn't understand much of what you said. But since you're in so much of a panic, I'm just going to come over. Okay?"

I hung up before I could get an answer, my nerves getting the best of me as I thought about everything bad that could have happened.

As I pulled my shoes on and opened the door, I felt a gentle hand on my back, and turned to see Sans up and ready to go as well.

Giving him a small smile, I took his hand and pulled him out the door with me, walking quickly, almost running.

Sans tried slowing down as I held tightly onto his hand, "kid, c'mon, do this bag of bones a favor and slow down some."

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip even more so than they already had, my voice tight with worry, "Toriel was scared, I could hear it in her voice. What if something happened while we stopped to get out shoes on? What if we're not going fast enough and something happens to her? What if she gets hurt? What if she's already hurt? What if—"

Sans picked up his pace, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze, "okay kid, okay, we'll go faster. you can't think like that though, 'kay?"

I took a deeper breath as I ran, my feet pounding into the ground and sending jolts up my legs. Trying to keep my breathing even, I could only whisper breathlessly, "Okay."

When we got to the Ruins, I knocked on the door as loudly as I could, trying to remain calm and control my breathing from running so much at once. When Toriel didn't answer after a minute, I pounded even harder, feeling fear claw it's way up my throat.

Sans gave my hand one more comforting squeeze, before letting go and using his magic to try and open the Ruins doors.

Feeling my breathing begin to pick up even more than when I was running, I tapped Sans on the shoulder, tears of panic pricking at my eyes, "Teleport. Please Sans, trying to open the doors will take longer."

Sans nodded, taking my hand in his again, and a feeling (familiar only through my memories) of warmth washed over us, the faint blue light casting on the ground.

As soon as our feet met with the solid ground inside of the Ruins, I was knocked to my back, the air leaving my in a hoarse exhale as I collided with the ground with someone on top of me.

Before I could take a breath, hands found their way around my throat, clamping down tightly and harshly.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only about thirty seconds, Sans tackled whoever was choking me, allowing me to sputter out a harsh cough as I tried to breathe correctly again.

Rolling over onto my hands and knees, I took in several heaving breaths, looking up through strands of my hair to find Sans restraining the attacker.

Sans looked over at me, softening his hardened features as he held the person down, "kid, are you okay? can you breathe? do you need help?"

I shook my head, "Don't—I'm okay." Taking a breath, I pushed myself to my feet, turning towards the hall leading to Toriel's house, "I need to find Toriel. Can you handle them?"

Sans looked down to the kid bucking under him, trying to get free, "yeah, i got this. be careful though kid, we don't know if anyone else is down here."

I nodded, and made my way down through the halls leading Toriel's, running fast even as I quickly lost my breath.

When I rounded the last corner of the hallway and sprinted up the stairs, my heart dropped to my stomach, and my feet slowed to a complete stop.

Dust.

A pile of dust.

Toriel's reading glasses off to the side, showing me who this pile of dust was. Had once been.

I felt my legs give out from under me as I lifted a hand to my mouth, wanting to keep the sob in.

I should have spent more time with her.

Toriel helped me. Cared for me.

Did a lot for me. Would have done more.

But I never cared to visit. I never thought about how lonely she must be without me. Without anyone else there.

Feeling hot tears go down my cheeks, I apologized profusely, to a person who was no longer here. And after several moments of my apologies, I forced myself to my feet, and turned back into the hallways below, making my way back to Sans.

My voice came out thickly, and I swiped at my eyes to stop the tears from falling.

"Sans, I found her."

* * *

Sitting upside down on the couch, I jolted back upward, my eyes widening as I realized what had happened.

I leaped off the couch, throwing on my shoes as I turned to Sans, "Teleport. To the Ruins."

Sans was confused for a moment, before realization dawned, and he hopped up, "shit, you reset, didn't you?"

I nodded, taking his hand in mine, "But I don't remember how it happened. All I know, is that if we don't get to Toriel right now, she could die."

Sans kind of froze for a moment, before shaking it off and using his magic to get us into the Ruins.

As soon as our feet touched the dirt, I took off running, darting through the halls and up the stairs in record time, leaving a very confused and concerned Sans behind.

When I was near the top of the stairs, I could hear Toriel's voice coming from the living room and kitchen area, "Child, please, I mean you no harm. Just put down the knife, okay?"

I made my way through the living area and to the kitchen, finding Toriel slowly backing out of the kitchen with her hands up as a boy held up the knife towards her, seeming as if he were ready to use it.

Inserting myself between the two, I could feel my stomach twist uncomfortably as I realized how stupid my action was. I kept my voice soft and steady, even as I could feel the hot and cold flushes begin, "Hey, hey, you seem a little upset right now, so let's start off small. What's your name?"

The boy glared back at me with stormy gray eyes, "Why? So you can use it against me? So you can turn me in?"

I stood my ground, even as he advanced, "No, no, I don't want to do anything like that. Here, I'll tell you my name first. My name is Frisk, and I am a Human who lives down here in the Underground." I took a small breath, feeling my nerves shoot up when the boy seemed to relax, but really it was like he was trying to throw me off, "I just want to help you, okay? So how about we take a walk? Or maybe you want to go to another room and talk?"

The boy's grip loosened on the knife fractionally, but he was still very much on guard, "Frisk? Saunders?"

My hands, which had been held up in a way to show I was unarmed, slowly fell to my sides, "How do you know my last name?"

The boy let his hands fall to his sides too, but the knife wasn't going anywhere, "You were all over the news. You went missing almost six months ago. Your mother looked for you, but Saunders said you were probably dead."

I crossed my arms, holding them tight against my chest as my voice shook, "Yeah, well he was wrong. I am very much alive." Clearing my throat, I took a quick breath, "So, how are we going to do this?"

The boy took a breath as well, his grip tightening on the knife, "We can take a walk. But after that I'm leaving, or someone's getting hurt."

I nodded, before turning to Toriel, and Sans who had only just arrived, "We'll walk around the Ruins. We won't go far, okay?"

Toriel managed a nod, along with Sans whose grin seemed painfully tight.

I motioned for the boy to follow me, and we silently made our way out of the house and into the Ruins, walking slowly in silence.

"Liam," the boy paused, and cleared his throat, "is my name. Liam Stewart."

.

 _Liam gently pushed me back down onto my bed, "Stop lying. Just tell me how bad it hurts, where, and how long it's been hurting. I can find out what's causing the pain and then fix you up."_

 _I slowly lay back down on the bed, exhausted, "I want to collapse all the time, because I've been ignoring the pain and hiding it from everyone because I don't want them to worry. It's so fucking tiring. It always hurts around my abdomen area, never anywhere else. And it's been hurting since we escaped from the compound."_

 _Liam gently placed his hands on my stomach, starting to probe for answers with his magic, "First off... language. Now, why didn't you just come to me sooner? If it's been hurting this badly, for this long, it could have fatal results."_

.

With a shake of my head, the memory left, leaving me a bit disoriented.

I took a small breath, taking a prod at his memory, "Liam, huh? It's weird. I feel like I've known you for quite some time."

Liam looked over at me, almost analyzing me, "You feel it too? I don't trust you. But I feel like I can."

I slowed to a stop, looking over the boy, seeing traces of the Liam residing within my memories, "Yeah. And I know how confusing it is when you meet someone, but you feel some sort of way about them, like you've known them forever." It was quiet for a few moments, before I spoke up again, "So, um, why don't you trust me? Well, actually, I get why you wouldn't, but I guess I was just kinda wondering why. I don't know, I don't make sense."

Liam looked down at the knife in his left hand, before shakily placing it into my hand, "I've been running from some bad people. Everyone's the same. They become your friends, they lie, they use you, and then they throw you away when they're done with you. But you... you're different. I think."

I pocketed the knife, letting out a small sigh, "Thank you for giving me the knife. Now, what do you want to do? If you want to get out of here, keep running, you can. But you'll have to kill someone for that. Or, if you want, you can stay here."

Liam looked down at his hands for a moment, contemplating, before looking back up at me with desperate gray eyes, "I won't be found down here?"

I shook my head, a small smile playing on my lips, "No, you won't be found down here... which sounds kind of creepy if it's taken out of context, but no, you'll be safe here."

Liam seemed to let out a breath that he had been holding, and made his way to the closest wall, sinking down onto his bottom.

I sat with him, making no comment about the tears welling up in his eyes and spilling over, only offering a comforting hug. When Liam accepted my hug, I fully put my arms around him, giving him a small squeeze.

"I think I'll stay," his voice seemed so young and crushed; the complete opposite of the Liam that had come forth in my memories.

Slowly, I pushed myself up, helping Liam up as well.

Walking back to Toriel's, the silence wasn't uncomfortable for me, but I didn't know this Liam as well as I did the other, so I spoke up.

My tone was gentle, like one would speak with an animal they were trying to calm, "There are a lot of Monsters in the Underground, but none of them are actually mean or cruel in any way. It's the opposite of all the stories we were told; the Monsters are really just peaceful people, who want to live their lives. Toriel's become a sort of mother to me, and Sans has become one of my best friends. But, um, but you don't have to trust them, it's okay not to trust them."

Liam managed a small nod, his face showing me just how exhausted and drained he must have felt.

Keeping that small distance between us, I just tried to make Liam feel a little more comfortable around me, "If you want, we can stay with Toriel tonight, and I can help you slowly adjust to the Underground."

Liam was still very much tense, pinching his forearms every so often, but slowly began to relax, "Yeah, okay, yeah, that's good. That'd be good."

As Toriel's home came into sight, I stopped Liam, my voice quiet, "Hey, remember what I said? It's okay not to trust them. But also be ready for some of them to not trust you right away either. And if you ever need a moment to think, or a break, just tell me—well, you don't have to tell me because you don't have to trust me but—okay, I'm just trying to say that if you need anything, just ask."

Liam pinched his forearm again, the action not getting past me, and gave me a small smile, "Thanks."

I gave Liam a small smile back, "Okay. Now, are you hungry? 'Cause Toriel and I can get started on some dinner, if you want."

Liam gave me a small nod, trying to find something to do with his hands, "Yeah. That'd be nice."

I pulled Liam into the warm home, giving Toriel and Sans a dismissive wave when they jumped up from the dining table. With my hand hovering an inch from Liam's back, I led him down the hall and into the room that I had slept in when I had arrived in the Underground.

I gave Liam what I hoped was a comforting smile, "I'll be in the kitchen with the other two." Looking Liam up and down, I realized that his clothes weren't in the best condition; his health overall didn't seem to be the best. I bit my lip, before speaking up again, "There should be some better clothes in the wardrobe. They might not be your style, but they'll work for now. When you're ready, you can come out and sit with us, if you'd like."

Leaving Liam on his own, I gently shut the door behind me, but not before bumping into Sans.

I bit my lip, holding down a yelp that had worked it's way into my throat, "Sans! You can't do that, you scared me half to death!"

Sans ignored me, his eyes scanning over me, "that kid didn't hurt you, did he?"

My breath caught in my throat, as I felt the love from my last self surge forward. Whether the love was only from memory or if I actually loved him, I didn't know. Maybe it was a little bit of both.

Clearing my throat, I shook my head, gently taking his hand off of my cheek; I don't know when it ended up there. "No, no, Liam's a good kid," I bit my lip after forming my sentence, trying to control my heartbeat.

Sans frowned, leading me to the living room where Toriel was, "yeah, that's why the brat was ready to use the knife for some not so fun purposes."

I chewed on my lips, trying to think of what I could say, "Well, he's a good kid, Sans."

Sans pulled out a chair for me to sit, before sitting down at the table himself, "look kid, maybe you think he is, but we can't just put that blind faith in him." Sans lowered his voice, while Toriel pretended to not hear, "remember what happened last run, kid? probably not so fun."

Crossing my arms, I huffed, "Oh yeah? Well I know for a fact that he's a good kid."

Sans sighed, leaning back in his seat, "okay kid, then tell me how you know that for a fact."

"Timelines," I said simply.

Sans frowned, thinking of something to say, before giving up and leaning back in his chair, "that's kinda unfair, kid." After a moment, Sans straightened up again, "actually, timelines aren't reliable. everything that's happened in this timeline, isn't at all the same as what happened in the last one. right, kid?"

I bit my lip, realizing that he was right, "But—Wait, no, you don't know that."

Sans put a gentle hand on my shoulder, forming a small smile when he noticed that I didn't flinch, "look kid, i know you want to see the best in people, but sometimes you just have to let that go. we can give the kid a chance though. sound good?"

I nodded in response, before getting up and smoothing out my sweater, "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna help Toriel in the kitchen. Just, be nice to the kid, Sans. Don't push for information. I think he's... I think he was in a similar situation as me."

Digging my nails into my thumb, I shuffled up to Toriel, "Hey mom, what can I help with?"

Toriel looked down at me, smiling warmly, "Oh, my child! Here, you can work on the mashed potatoes while I prepare the pie."

I grabbed a pot, filling it with salted water and waiting for it to boil, before throwing the potatoes in. As I waited for the potatoes to cook, I glanced over at Toriel, who seemed perfectly content with her preparing of the butterscotch cinnamon pie.

As I prepared to mash the potatoes, I blurted out, "Mom, do you miss your kids?"

Toriel dropped teaspoon of cinnamon in her paw, somehow seeming to pale, "What—What did you say?"

While Toriel stood in silence, Chara made a snap appearance for the first time in a while, frowning.

I quickly began speaking again, not knowing why I had asked what I'd asked, "I asked if you missed your kids. I don't know why I asked, I was just—I don't know. I don't know why I would ask something like that."

Toriel stood still for a moment longer, before slowly relaxing, getting back to work on the pie, "If you mean Chara and Asriel... then yes, I do."

I slowly began to mash the potatoes, my mind going over a million different things inside, "What about Asgore?"

Toriel was quiet for several more moments, her voice shaking slightly, "That man's name is not welcome in this home. It would be best for you to forget him, my child. Do you understand?"

Chara's voice was quiet in my ear, but still very forceful, "Frisk, stop it! Leave mom alone."

I bit my lip, before quietly finishing up the mashed potatoes, "He regrets what he did. He wants to make up for it. If you'll let him."

Carefully, I set the bowl of potatoes down and crossed into the dining/living room, sitting down at the table. I felt like I had crossed a line, but I also wanted to fix something. Something other than me, that is.

And suddenly, I felt like I had to race to do things.

I didn't want to sit and eat dinner, I didn't want to waste time doing nothing. I wanted to get to the lab with Mettaton and work on getting Gaster back, and I wanted to find a way to bring Chara and Asriel, both of whom I missed from my last timeline. I felt like I had to get up and work and keep my hands busy and just _do_ something. I suddenly couldn't just sit still, because I felt like I had to do something to change things.

But I sat down anyways, and I gave Sans a weak smile, "Sorry for the eventful day... Dinner's almost done though, so we can relax a bit."

Sans was quiet momentarily, before getting a grin on his face, "well, you and i both know that we're not gonna relax during dinner. what do ya say we get out and do somethin' fun afterwards?"

Arching an eyebrow, I leaned forward a little bit, "Fun? Like what?"

Sans' grin widened as he realized that he had my attention, "oh, i dunno kid, i can't really tell ya, since it's a surprise."

I tried to pout, but a smile couldn't help but work it's way onto my face, "Fine, don't tell me. I'll find out on my own."

Sans chuckled, shaking his head, "no kid, i don't think you'll be able to figure this one out."

I crossed my arms, trying not to smile, "Even with the timelines?"

Sans kept his grin on his face, "even with the timelines."

Before I could prod any more, Toriel brought dinner out and set it on the table before sitting down herself. And Liam cautiously stepped into the room, before very slowly taking a seat next to me at the table.

I gave Sans a look, telling him to be civil, before smiling at Liam, "So, this is Sans and Toriel. The people I told you about earlier."

Liam gave them each a small nod of acknowledgment, before stiffly picking up his silverware and slowly beginning to eat.

But the way Liam was trying very hard to make a better impression, and the way he had to deliberately slow down while eating, and I knew. He was starving. But he was trying to savor the meal, and trying to make it last. And I knew that, because I did the exact same thing in my own household.

Biting my lip, I picked up my fork and set it back down again, my appetite gone.

Clearing my throat, I smiled and pushed my plate closer to Liam, "Here, you can have mine if you want."

Liam froze, looking up at me with questioning eyes, almost as if he was asking, 'Are you sure?'.

I put my elbow onto the table, leaning into my hand as I looked at Liam with the smile still placed on my lips, "Really, I'm not hungry. I actually ate earlier, and I know I won't be able to even start on this plate. So, dig in."

Liam hesitated at first, but then he gave what resembled a smile, and began to eat more enthusiastically than before.

With a small, genuine smile on my face, I sat up straighter, "Okay. I wanna tell you the plan, but you can keep eating." Digging my nails into my thumb, I ran through everything in my head quick, before saying it all out loud, "You want to stay down here, so I think you can live here, with Toriel, if you want. And I'll stay with you here, for however long you want, until you're comfortable. But I'll probably be going out during the day, to help a friend with something. Is that okay?"

Liam nodded, swallowing his food, his voice coming out scratchy, "I want—You can stay tonight, and tomorrow. But I think... I think I'll be okay. You don't have to stay long. I can take care of myself. And Toriel's here to keep an eye on me."

I fought the fond smile that was trying to make it's way onto my face, because even though this Liam was younger and more timid, he still had that fight in him. That spark that made him, him.

Nodding in understanding, Liam took my nods as his cue to start eating again, while I spoke. My voice soft, I pushed my seat backwards and got up, "Okay. Well, Sans and I are gonna head out for a bit. I'll be back later, okay?"

Liam nodded, before pausing, and turning in his seat to look at me and Sans, as we walked to the stairs, "Hey, Napoleon _Bone_ -apart, is she your girlfriend?"

Sans seemed to choke on air, while I turned about fifty-seven shades of red.

Recovering quickly though, I could hear Sans' deep, laid-back voice from beside me while I hid behind my hands, "that was a great pun kid, seem like a _bone_ -afied pun master, but you can't really get under my skin. you're what, ten?"

Liam smirked, "Almost thirteen, actually."

Sans grinned, "okay, so you're a baby-bones, just like frisk here; you're three years apart from each other."

While Toriel hid her smile in the back, Liam frowned a little, "We're not babies. Besides, you can't be much older."

Sans chuckled, placing his hand on the small of my back to get me to start going down the stairs, "kid, i'm a skeleton, i'm positively ancient."

When we were alone in the halls leading to the rest of the Underground, I just pretended to laugh the whole situation off, to try and ease back into a more comfortable atmosphere.

Digging my nails into my thumb, I smiled, "Well, Liam may be a bit different, but he really hasn't changed much."

Sans chuckled, his hands stuffed into his sweater pockets, "was that kid always like that in your timeline?"

Fully smiling this time, I shrugged, "I don't know about before I met him, but for the time that I knew him, yeah, he was always kind of fiery. He still has that spark to him. The spark that makes him, well, him... It's weird. I know all of these things about people that even they don't know, and I know completely different versions of people I know than now. You know, Liam was—" The fourth mage. "Well, it actually doesn't matter. He's a new person now. So yeah, it's just weird."

Sans chuckled, before sighing, "okay kid, time to cover your eyes."

I bit my lip, digging my nails into my thumbs, "Why?"

Seeing how anxious I was, Sans gave me a reassuring smile, "that secret, magical place that you don't know about. i told ya, it's a surprise. just close your eyes, you can trust me."

Taking a small breath, I listened to Sans and closed my eyes, feeling his cool, bony hand take my small, warm one and led me forward.

Clearing my throat, I tried to stifle the emotions from the past timeline, "So how old are you really? Earlier you told Liam that you were positively ancient, but you didn't give a specific number."

Sans chuckled, still leading me to the area in the Underground that I apparently hadn't been to, "i'm twenty-two, but that's still pretty ancient."

"Cool. Are we almost there?" I asked, still overly anxious about falling or something.

His hand still on the small of my back, Sans' deep voice sounded from the right of me, "almost there kid, just a few more steps."

The 'few' steps were walked in comfortable silence, with Sans guiding me through whatever section of the Underground we were in. I had been trying to pay attention to the feel of the path underneath my feet, but that wasn't helping. The only thing different was that the temperature had increased to a warm atmosphere with a cool breeze. And the only place in the Underground like that, that I knew of was Waterfall.

Our feet soon slowed to a stop, and I kept my eyes closed, anxious and wondering whether it was the right time to open them or not.

His voice quiet, Sans said, "okay, now you can open them."

I opened my eyes, disoriented at first, seeing different colored polka dots, before I was able to really focus.

When I did focus, I could barely form words, "I—Is—Wow."

We were standing in the middle of what looked like it could be the night sky. The cave walls were covered in brilliantly glowing azure specks, making me unsure if the water in front of our feet was just a reflection of the cave walls or if those blue specks were in the water as well. And standing in the middle of it all, the darkness pierced through with glows of blue, just took my breath away.

Chuckling, Sans put his hands in his pockets, almost shyly, "told ya that it was somewhere only i knew. do you like it?"

Turning to him, I caught Sans off guard with my wide smile, "Like it? I love it!" I turned my gaze back to the caves walls, before squatting down and dipping a finger in the water, "What is this? The blue stuff, what is it? Can I touch it?"

Squatting down with me, Sans glanced over at me, before to the water as well, "they're glowworms. the adults are about the size of those one insects, the little vampire ones."

My lips twitched up into a smile, "Mosquitoes?"

Sans snapped his fingers, grinning, "yeah, that's the name. and if i'm right, there's also small underground lakes that were created by freshwater creeks or brooks. oh, and the walls are also covered with a variety of fungi including a cave flower that is actually a mushroom-like fungus. it's all pretty interesting."

Transition from squatting to sitting, I looked up at the ceiling of the cave, looking at the glowworms that seemed like twinkling stars, "So, why'd you bring me here? N—Not to be rude, but I'm curious. Humans are notorious for ruining all things good."

Sans didn't even hesitate, "well, humans didn't ruin you. but i thought... i thought maybe, if you just wanted a break from everything, and you just wanted to be somewhere where no one could find you, then you could come here."

My deep amber eyes flitted up to Sans' white pinpricks, before I couldn't stifle my laugh, "But—I couldn't—You had me close my eyes the entire way here!"

Sans grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his skull, "yeah, well, you can look on the way back. it's actually very easy to find once you see where it is for the first time. speaking of on the way back, do you wanna get going? i know you care about that kid and wanna make sure he's okay."

I stared at Sans' outstretched hand as he offered to help me up, and I did take his hand, but I pulled him back down to sit beside me, earning a small yelp from the skeleton as he was seated next to me again.

Smiling I looked back over the water and the cave, feeling content, "No, we can stay for a little while longer. It's... It's peaceful here, with you."

* * *

I was careful not to wake Liam, my footsteps nearly mute if it weren't for the padding of my skin against the hardwood floor.

Slipping into the bed on the opposite side of the room, I had to keep in my content but exhausted sigh, so I wouldn't wake the equally or more-so exhausted kid in the bed opposite of me.

As I turned onto my side, I froze, hearing a voice behind me, "I miss her, Frisk."

I turned my head to face Liam, who was in his bed, turned onto his side to face me. My voice came out quietly, almost scratchily, "Who? Your mom? Is that who? It'll be fine, Liam. Maybe we can find a way to—"

Liam turned onto his back, "No. That's not who. Forget it, Saunders."

I was quiet for a moment, biting my lip, "Liam, if you talk to me, you'll feel a lot better. You—Not that you have to, because like I said, you don't have to trust me or anyone else right away with things. But, I think maybe it'll be worth it. I know how it feels to carry a lot on your shoulders, and I know that it's hard to stay strong."

When Liam just lay there and didn't say anything, I thought maybe he went back to sleep. Or maybe he was ignoring me, which was more likely. So I turned onto my right side again, facing the wall as I shut my eyes and tried to get to sleep.

Liam's brittle voice startled me, just a small shot of panic going through my veins.

"Blue."

* * *

 **Hello my lovelies, I am back!**

 **I know I went a little bit over the 20th, and I'm sorry, its just been kind of hectic. Finals are coming up, they actually start tomorrow, so yeah, not really fun.**

 **But I finally finished this chapter, and I think it's a pretty decent chapter for you guys since I haven't been posting.**

 **Now I'm planning to get back on a schedule, so I think I'll plan on either doing a chapter every Sunday like last time, or maybe every other Sunday, to give me some more creative planning. I'm still figuring it out, but I'll let you guys know what the plan is.**

 **Until Next Time~**


	12. Chapter 12: Childish

Chapter 12: Childish

 _"Blue."_

I wanted to whip around and shake some sense into Liam, because of how stupid it was that he'd mention her and how she was one of many people who weren't in our lives anymore.

But there was no way he could remember. That was in a past timeline.

So I lay there, silent, wanting to probe and ask him who Blue was. I wanted to see if he remembered even the tiniest fraction of the previous timeline. But he had already been through so much in just one day. He needed time to adjust. And maybe, just maybe, I would ask about the last timeline.

The translucent features of Chara appeared in front of me, the spirit opting to lay down after several minutes. Her voice was quiet but oh-so loud in the silent room, "This was Azzy's bed. I don't think it's been touched since... that day."

I offered the most comfort I could give in just a smile, my voice low enough that Liam wouldn't be able to hear me, "I know, Chara. I know."

Twisting onto her back on the bed, the spirit glared at the ceiling above, working hard to keep from crying. Her voice was no longer quiet, but it didn't matter since no one else was aware of her presence, "Do you think that maybe...maybe we can have what we did in the last run?"

I forced my knees as close to my chest as I possibly could, my voice still low, "You mean with you and Asriel?"

Chara didn't do anything for a few moments, but she eventually managed to nod.

"God," I let out a big sigh, my voice almost inaudible, "I sure hope so."

* * *

I shoved my sleeves back up to my elbow as they slipped down, tightening one more bolt on the strange machine that was before me.

Standing up, I wiped my brow on my sleeve, clearing away any sweat that has made an appearance.

Mettaton gave a smile my way, busying himself with his work, "Good job, Darling. Now that the machine is done, we can start on the programming."

Sighing, I crossed over and leaned onto Mettaton's work desk, crossing my arms over my chest, "I feel like this is taking way too long."

Chuckling, Mettaton set his papers full of codes and formulas down, "Well you want this to be done in high quality, yet?" Earning a nod from me, Mettaton continued, "Quality work takes time. Now, tell me what's got you frowning. You've been very quiet all morning."

I gnawed on my bottom lip, trying to find some excuse other than the feeble one that left my lips, "What? Nothing's wrong."

Mettaton put his hands on his hips, almost smirking, "Darling Frisk, you have never been a good liar. Out with it. Does it concern this little project of ours? Nightmares? Boy troubles? It can't be too bad."

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, noting that I was due for a haircut, "It's not really boy trouble, per-say... It's just that a friend of mine, Liam, managed to make his way down here yesterday. He—It's—It's just complicated and too long and confusing to explain."

His smile drooping slightly, Mettaton reached over and grabbed a fruit snack to munch on, "More complicated than building a machine that's meant to bring back your best friend's father from an unknown void?" Getting another nod, Mettaton arched an eyebrow, "Well, Darling, that must be quite stressful for you."

A small smile played on my lips as I closed my eyes, scenes and moments from the last timeline playing out on the backs of my eyelids.

My voice was quiet as I opened my eyes again, "More stressful than you would ever believe."

Mettaton stood quietly, with probing eyes, before clapping his hands twice and vaulting into action, "Darling, I've deducted that you could use a night of fun. Come with me and we'll get you a nice outfit for tonight."

I stood dumbly, watching Mettaton stuff papers away as the work mood dropped instantly.

With Mettaton looking at me expectantly, I felt uncertain, "You can't be serious about this. I—I dunno."

Mettaton only shook his head, before taking my hand in his and dragging me along behind me, "Darling, do loosen up. It has been work work work with this machine of yours. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe we've had a proper night out as friends."

I tugged uncertainly on a strand of my hair, before my voice came out in a sigh, "And just what are we doing?"

Laughing unexpectedly, Mettaton answered in an excited voice, "Singing! It's karaoke night tonight in several establishments, so it only makes sense that we attend. Who doesn't love karaoke?"

My feet dragging on the floor, I tried to infuse my voice with the same cheery tone that Mettaton spoke in, "Yeah, karaoke is a great idea."

Practically diving into his closet, Mettaton exclaimed, "That's the spirit Darling! Now we just need the perfect outfits, a tad bit of makeup for fun, and then we can go out and dazzle everyone!"

Watching Mettaton root around in his closet, guilt crept up and placed its hands around my throat, making me realize just how time consuming the mission to bring Gaster back had become.

Thinking even more on it, I couldn't recall the last time the robot had put on a performance for his adoring fans.

I was yanked from my thoughts when Mettaton shoved an outfit into my empty hands, "Try it on and tell me what you think! Oh, and please do be sure to show yourself off to me once you're dressed."

Having been herded into the bathroom to try the outfit on, I actually took a good look at what had been shoved into my unsuspecting hands. Looking the outfit over now, I couldn't even begin to imagine myself dressed in it.

Mettaton had picked out high-waisted leather pants, a black top that seemed more like a bra, and a buttonless flannel to top it all off.

I couldn't help huffing in disbelief, and my cheeks seemed to be on fire as I put the outfit on so as not to hurt Mettaton's feelings.

With the new outfit donned and my sweater and shorts on the ground, I felt so incredibly naked.

But as naked as I felt, looking in the mirror I found that I both looked and felt incredibly... pretty.

Well, I could be considered pretty if you managed to ignore the reddish-brown scars scattered here and there for...various reasons.

Nervously forming a small braid in my hair, I shook my hair out and turned towards the bathroom door. Taking a small breath, I forced myself to walk out to Mettaton before I could think twice.

Mettaton turned around to face me as soon as he heard the door opening, and his jaw practically dropped.

Once his initial shock was over, Mettaton's face split into a wide grin, "Darling, you look astonishing! Okay, now all we need is a touch of mascara, some heels, and ta-da~ We'll be ready to go!"

Chewing on my bottom lip, I crossed my arms to try and cover my bare skin, "I dunno. This outfit just isn't—This isn't really my style, I can't walk in hells, I just—I dunno."

Immediately registering my doubt, Mettaton had a slight frown on his face, his voice soft, "Darling, you are absolutely gorgeous. It is absolutely okay to try new things and not like them. If you want another outfit then that's okay, we'll find another outfit."

Glancing down at the outfit, I weighed the options and was torn between wearing it to please Mettaton or not wearing it to keep myself comfortable.

Before I could become more self-conscious and dwell on it, I shook my head. "No, I'll wear this one," my words came out in an anxious sigh. Raising my eyes back up to Mettaton, I offered a smile, "Instead of heels, how about some flats? And just the mascara. And maybe a haircut?"

Mettaton's eyes lit up, and he flew into action without a word.

"I don't wanna do this anymore. How about you just sing and dazzle everyone, and I watch? It'll be just as fun as if I were the one singing!"

Mettaton gave me an encouraging smile, "Oh hush Darling, these are just some last minute nerves. Don't worry, everyone gets them."

Gently pushing me inside the bar, I was a mixture of being grateful and ungrateful. Grateful for being inside of the warmth instead of Snowdin's blustering cold, and ungrateful because of all of the eyes that were now on us.

I pulled the flannel closed tightly in front of me, feeling heat rise to my cheeks, "It feels like everyone in the Underground is here."

Mettaton lead me forwards through the crowd, getting us to the counter where Grillby was, "Frisk, Darling, loosen up. Tonight's going to be a night of fun and music! No one here will care about how you look or how you perform."

Crossing my arms tightly over my chest, I frowned, "Then what was the point of dressing up? Or even coming?"

Mettaton closed his eyes momentarily, before opening them and giving me a forced smile, "To have fun, Frisk. To lighten up and take a break." Glancing up at Grillby, Mettaton broke out into a large smile, "Grillby! I haven't seen you in ages! Why don't you be a dear and get me some of that white cake vodka while we catch up?"

Feeling a flash of guilt deep in my stomach, I took a step back from the bar, trying to stop thinking about how I was going to ruin this night that was supposed to be fun for Mettaton.

As my eyes flitted over the crowd of people in the establishment, my gaze landed on a familiar face.

Weaving through the crowd, I found my place in front of Liam, "Hey. What are you doing here? I thought you were staying with Toriel?"

Liam didn't even try to give me a smile, only stuffing his hands into his jacket pocket, "Toriel said it'd be good for me to get out of the Ruins and take a look around. The skeleton brought me."

Looking around the restaurant, my sights landed on sans, who was talking to another Monster.

Smiling, I looked back to Liam, "Why would Sans bring you? He hates karaoke so much."

Liam froze, fists seeming to form in his pocket as he looked me over. His voice came out slowly, his eyes a stormy gray, " _Really_? On the way here, he was talking about how much he loved karaoke night. Said he sucked at singing, but still had fun messing around. He said he tries to come most Fridays."

Chara's translucent features were barely visible as they appeared behind Liam, her voice sharp and her features slightly panicked as she spoke for the first time that day, "Past timeline, that was a past timeline. You're mixing things up!"

Swallowing a few times in quick succession, my mouth seemed incredibly dry, "Oh? I guess I misheard him. We actually haven't talked much about our interests, so I don't know where I got that from. It's whatever though."

Liam narrowed his eyes, before becoming overly relaxed, "Yeah, it's whatever. Anyways, what's the deal between you and your skeleton?"

I almost laughed, playing with my fingers, "What? He's not my skeleton."

Liam laughed this time, running a hand through his wild hair, "Yeah, I know, he's only your best friend." As Liam's laugh died out, he added with acidity, "It's not like you'd marry him or anything."

My smile dropped instantly, and I recognized that analytical look within Liam's eyes. I let my hands fall to my sides, my voice quiet, "You remember, don't you? You remember the last timeline."

Liam shoulder past me, his voice flat as he made his way to the bar counter, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Turning to follow Liam, I stopped as a familiar voice sounded behind me, "hey kid, what are ya doin' here? i thought you had that thing with the robot."

Turning around once more, I pulled the flannel shut again, "Oh, hey Sans. Yeah, Mettaton thought we needed a break, so he brought me to karaoke night."

Sans' eyes widened fractionally, before he looked everywhere except for me, "kid, what in the ever-lovin' hell are you wearing?"

I looked down at the outfit Mettaton had chosen, and I smiled, "This? Mettaton thought it'd be perfect for a night out. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the decision at first, but I think stepping out of my comfort zone was—"

"yeah, you are _not_ wearing that," Sans took my hand in his and pulled me to the bar counter where Mettaton was chatting animatedly with Grillby.

Seeing us approaching, Mettaton smiled, "Darling, you're just in time! We're up next for the stage! Now, the song will be just a bit mellow, but afterwards we can sing something that's fun and energetic. Maybe even sexy?"

Sans almost didn't let Mettaton finish speaking, before he spoke sharply, "what the hell do you think you're doing, letting frisk walk around in something like this?"

Mettaton arched an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips, "Why do you have a problem with it? Unless our little Sansy here has a crush and is getting all hot and bothered?"

Sans had placed a grin on his face, which was now incredibly tight, "ha ha ha, you're so funny mettaton. i can't believe i missed all of those comedy nights when you performed."

Mettaton smiled, taking a sip of his drink, "Oh Darling, I'm just hilarious. I can't believe you've missed out on so much."

Sans took Mettaton by the arm, pulling him off to the side to keep their conversation somewhat private.

With a low voice, Sans began speaking with Mettaton, "look at her. she's a kid. she doesn't need to be wearing stuff like this."

Frowning, Mettaton glanced over at me before looking down at Sans again, "Frisk is a young lady, and I believe she is old enough to wear whatever she desires. On another note, no one here is going to try and woo her, so you can calm down, she's yours for the picking."

Sans' grin seemed to tighten ever-more painfully, and his voice came out dangerously, "she is a _child_."

With those words, I wished so very much that I could hide behind my hair and make a quick escape, but my hair was cut above my shoulders and I couldn't walk out on Mettaton's night out.

Instead of trying to hide, I could feel my face set in stone and I grabbed a microphone, quickly choosing a song to perform.

Animal by Neon Trees started playing, and Sans and Mettaton payed no attention to who was going onto the stage.

"Here we go again, I kinda wanna be _more_ than friends, so take it easy on me I'm afraid you're never satisfied."

Mettaton glanced up at the stage, a smile beginning to form, but went back to his argument with Sans.

" _Here we go again_ , we're sick like animals we play _pretend_. You're just a cannibal and I'm afraid I won't get out alive. No I won't sleep tonight."

The arguing pair finally looked up as the music began to swell.

"Oh oh, I want some more, oh oh, what are you waitin' for? Take a bite of my heart tonight. Oh oh, I want some more, oh oh, what are you waitin' for? _What are you waitin' for?_ Take a bite of my heart tonight."

Mettaton elbowed Sans, who looked torn between being proud of me or being upset with me and Mettaton.

I ignored them.

"Here we are again, I feel the chemicals _kickin_ ' in. It's gettin' heavier, I wanna run and hide, _I wanna run and hide_. I do it _every_ time, you're _killin_ ' me now! And I won't be denied by you, the animal inside of you."

The angrier and more upset I felt, the more flourish I let into my singing and performance, until just like that, the song was over.

Trying not to breathe too heavily, I got off of the small makeshift stage, ignoring the applause and making a beeline towards Sans.

Shoving the microphone into his hands, I ignored his surprised expression, "I'm sorry if that was too _childish_ for you. Have fun now."

"frisk—"

I ignored Sans, slipping into the crowd and making my way to the door.

* * *

Mettaton was still out performing for his fans, even though it had been quite a few hours later.

Wiping my hands off, I stood up to cross over and look at Mettaton's papers, which explained the programming of the machine we had been working on.

Chara looked over the papers with me as well, frowning, "Hey, Frisk, I don't understand this. Do you?"

A smile tugged on my lips, and I looked over everything again, "Yeah."

Chara seemed to roll her eyes at me, "Yeah right. You're not really the science-nerd type here, Mettaton is."

I smiled fully as I took a seat at the computer, "That's true, but I do understand _this_. I took a computer programming class while I was in my freshman year. It's just telling the machine what to do in a language that it can understand."

Chara hopped up onto the desk, not smiling, yet not frowning, "Huh. That's pretty neat, actually. So how long will this take?"

I shrugged, my fingers flying over the keyboard. Entering the first few commands, I tried and failed to calculate how long it would take to finish everything, "This might take an hour or few. It just depends on any improvements that can be made or weaknesses that need to be fixed. All in all though, we can get Gaster back tomorrow. Or tonight!"

Chara began to smile, before pressing her lips into a tight line, "Hey, I know you've been working hard and all, but I don't think we'll be able to bring him back. Not with science only."

My smile didn't waver as I continued typing, "I know."

Narrowing her eyes, Chara adjusted herself as she sat on the desk, "What do you mean by that?"

After finishing up a few more codes, I gave Chara a response, "The machine can't run on codes and commands alone; they can't possibly recreate the ability to teleport someone from one location to another, especially when the location they're in is in it's own realm of existence between two other existences." Taking a small breath, I smiled, "So, I'll be using my soul to infuse the machine with magic."

Chara was silent, staring at me as if I had three heads. "What?" Realizing that I was completely serious, the ghost slammed her hands down on the desk, "You can't do something as stupid as that. It has never been done before. You could die! You're only sixteen—"

Typing furiously, I tried to focus, before I couldn't. Jerking out of my chair I pulled on my striped sweater over the flannel and bralette, my voice rough, "I am sick and tired of people telling me that I can't _wear_ certain things, or _do_ certain things. I'm done with it."

The translucent girl stormed after me, glaring, "Well I am just so sorry that I'm trying to prevent your death. You know, you came down here, you made these people get attached to you, you made them love you, and now you want to throw your life away just like that and forget about them? I'm not having it; Toriel has been through too much already!"

I looked up at Chara, speaking quickly, my voice low to prevent it from breaking, "I have done this before, in case you can't remember. And don't you dare tell me about how much anyone has been through down here, because I have been through _everything_. Everything. And I am just so sick and _tired_ of being treated like a child! I know I can be childish, _I know that_. But life's too depressing to be so serious all the time. So please, just shut up and leave me alone!"

Whirling around, I ignored the painful stinging in my eyes.

Chara had continued firing back at me, but I had ignored the girl, eventually managing to zone out and let my feet take me down the familiar path to Waterfall.

As soon as I had arrived at that welcoming door in Waterfall, I turned the knob and quickly stepped in.

I smiled as the door shut behind me, my voice echoing slightly in the Void, "Hey Goopster, I'm back. I have some things I think you'll like too!"

The scientist popped up by my side, amused, "Goopster?"

Smiling at the scientist's amusement, I settled down in my usual place by the coffee table, "Yep, Goopster. 'Cause you're just so...goopy."

Looking around, I felt more at ease in the Void.

I had brought in various items from previous trips in an attempt to make it all feel homey.

There were some chairs, a table, a dresser, a lamp, some pillows, and even a couch.

Of course, it was a bit of a struggle to bring everything in, but the happiness that had crossed Gaster's features was more than worth the trouble.

Gaster sat down beside me, clearing his throat as he was no longer amused, "Frisk, what you had explained earlier to that ghost of yours was, quite frankly, concerning to me." Pausing, Gaster took a moment before continuing, "I know you desire to do this for Sans, but—"

With the mention of Sans' name, I was no longer smiling and my voice went flat, "No. I'm not doing this for him."

The scientist beside me offered a small smile, "Perhaps you're doing it for me. But you can't deny that you're doing this for him as well." Silent for a beat, Gaster mulled over his thoughts before choosing to speak again, "From what I have observed—from what I've heard you speak of—You were in love with my son. Yes?"

My heart jumped to my throat before freezing like a criminal caught red-handed, and my stomach seemed to sink lower than ever before.

After a beat of silence, I sank into the couch, mumbling out a "Yeah".

Offering a comforting hand, Gaster continued, "And these emotions remain, even in this new timeline."

Nodding, I shifted my sitting position as my cheeks burned uncomfortably. My voice seemed to come out weakly, "I didn't—My feelings for him weren't like this. Not at first. I'm sorry. I don't know if they just came back or if they developed or—Sorry."

The older skeleton gave me a reassuring smile, "You are fine. I am comfortable with your feelings for my son; it's a blessing, of sorts, if you ever desire to make an advance. However, you are surely aware that his feelings may not be...reciprocated."

Digging my nails into my thumb, a small smile managed to grace my lips, "Yeah, I know that. It's just a little crush, I'm sure." Clearing my throat quite quickly, I perked up, "Other than that, I have the incredible news of being able to bring you back! Which, can happen by this time tomorrow!"

Instead of receiving the overjoyed reaction that I had been hoping for, Gaster couldn't even seem to bring a smile to his face.

Finding that my concern was starting to grow, Gaster was prompted to give an explanation, "I am delighted that you have worked so hard to bring me back into existence, but that fact that you would be required to bare your soul and expose yourself to harm is...I do not have the desire for you to do something like that for me. I would be happy to remain in the Void if it meant that you would not be put in harm's way."

Frowning, I slowly got to my feet, "No, I haven't—This isn't—Look, I did not spend over half a year trying to bring you back, only for you to refuse to come back."

Gaster stood with me, putting a bony hand on my shoulder, "Dear child, you are only sixteen. You have your entire life ahead of you, and to risk that for an old scientist such as—"

I shrugged Gaster's hand off, briskly crossing over to the door I had entered in, "Respectfully, I'm not a child. I was in my twenties, I believe, in the previous timeline. And before that timeline, I had been seventeen for quite a while. Now that I'm sixteen again and we add my previous age, I would be around thirty-six or thirty-seven. So while I may act as if I am the age of sixteen that I currently am, I am far older than that."

Frowning, Gaster reached out for me, "Frisk."

Throwing the door open, I began to step out, "Like I said, respectfully, sir, I'm not a child."

As I was fully in Waterfall, I stepped off to the side, sinking into sitting position.

I was tired.

So tired.

Things never went as planned.

I worked tirelessly on the machine to bring Gaster back, but now Gaster didn't want to be back. Chara and Mettaton helped and supported me with everything to bring Gaster back, but they didn't want me to bring him back. A night out didn't go as planned. Sans wanted me to get more comfortable in my skin and in the Underground, but freaked when I wore something that made me feel good about myself. And don't even get me started on Liam, who made it painfully obvious that he remembered the previous timeline, even though he denied it.

Sliding my hands up my cheeks and to my eyes, I rubbed my face quite harshly to try and fight the exhaustion taking over.

Resting my head on my knees, I closed my eyes.

Tired...

"You're driving that skeleton crazy."

I didn't look up or open my eyes, even as Liam sank down next to me.

"You were always so tired. You didn't really show it though. You tried to hide it."

My mouth remained shut. It felt like it would take too much energy to make the words come.

"And you were also kind of a bitch. Not that you meant to be bitchy, but it happened sometimes. Either way, Blue always loved you. She practically scolded me whenever I said anything that wasn't praising you."

A smiled flickered on my lips, but I kept my eyes closed and my forehead on my knees.

"I don't like you right now. I kind of hate you."

A smile definitely graced my lips then. Liam was the same honest Liam that he had always been.

"But, I don't have anything against the skeleton. Who, by the way, has been looking all over for you."

My smiled went away, and I opened my eyes to find Liam's intense gaze on me.

"So should I tell him you're fine and just need space, or are you going to put him out of his misery and go home?"

Closing my eyes, I shrugged.

It took too much energy to even open and close my eyes, let alone shrug.

Liam was quiet for a few moments, before shifting beside me, "Honestly, I never understood the relationship between you two. Always sort of back and forth. Never straightforward."

Finally, I took a deep breath that seemed to leave me all too quickly, "You and Selena weren't really straightforward for a while either. Don't judge."

"You finally speak," Liam commented as he stood up. Holding out a hand, Liam voiced another thought, "I really wanted to be an ass to you since you fucked everything up, but it doesn't seem like you can take much of that right now."

Taking Liam's hand, I pulled myself up, "No. You should be an ass. I deserve it."

Walking was slow, as I felt like I could barely put one foot in front of the other.

Everything just felt so heavy.

Liam decided to break the silence that had fallen. His voice was so quiet that I wasn't sure if he had spoken, "What happened?"

Heavy.

"Me," I exhaled.

Talking took my breath away. Made it hard to breathe.

Liam seemed to know that I was in a mood, so he didn't push any further.

As the beginning of Snowdin quickly came into sight, Liam sighed, "He said he had gone to see if you were at the 'escape' he had shown you. I don't think he'll check again. If you need some time, you can go there. I'll just tell him I saw you in Waterfall somewhere. Let you have some space."

I hummed in response, thankful that Liam didn't seem to fully hate me.

"You seem tired," the boy commented.

My breath hitched, my chest heavier than before, "I am."

A fraction more of Liam's hostility melted, and he lowered his voice, "Do you need to talk?"

Because it took away my ability to breathe, I didn't want to speak, "I—Can't."

Liam caught the tone in my voice, his voice soft, "Not now?"

Nodding, I looked up to face Liam and gave him a small smile.

Liam's features softened, before he looked away, "Just—You're not pulling that bullshit where you're hurting yourself, are you? 'Cause if you're doing anything to hurt yourself in any way, Selena would kick my ass for not helping you."

I managed something that resembled a small laugh, before shaking my head.

Liam stopped walking, not quite believing me, "Stats. And soul."

It took me a moment to muster some strength, but I managed to pull up my stats and coax my soul out.

 _Frisk Breanna Saunders_

 _16 years, seven months, 1 day_

 _HP: 22/22_

 _ATK: 2_

 _DF: 2_

 _EXP: 45_

 _LV: 2_

 _The girl remembers. She has been through indescribable horrors. But she is still kind, still caring; that certain tenderness is there in her soul, and she loves people so very deeply. She is working hard to make things right and move on. But she is tired. This girl is so very tired, and she needs her people._

Seeming to be content, Liam went on to inspect my soul, able to recall the information he had learned in the previous timeline.

Taking it in myself, my soul was that brilliant cherry red, and it gave off a radiant glow. The only issues to be found were a few healing bruises, and two deep cracks running off of the heart-shaped soul, as if it were a cracked mirror.

"Different," came the mumbled response from Liam. Looking up at me, Liam placed his hands in his jacket pockets, "It's different from last time. Healthier. But the colors..."

Hugging my arms to myself, I took a heavy breath, "In the last timeline, there was an incident in an alternate reality."

Liam took the small explanation I had given him, allowing me to tuck my soul away.

The remainder of our walk was in comfortable silence, and Liam gave a small wave goodbye as he made his way up to the skeleton brothers' house.

Then it was just me.

The snow crunched satisfyingly underneath my feet, and the wind was whispering gently in my ears.

I was unable to figure out if I was content being alone, or if I was upset.

Either way, my chest was heavy, and I was so exhausted that it almost hurt.

I felt alone. There had seemed to be a chatter that would come from Snowdin but now I was past that, and I was getting closer to the Ruins, where it was considerably quieter.

And I was alone.

Turning off of the path abruptly, I followed the path that seemed to be too obvious now that Sans had shown it to me.

Although I had memorized the direction of the path, I hadn't memorized every root and dip in the path.

I had tripped over a root or crack in the path more times than I would care to admit, but I had made it to that breathtakingly beautiful cave with the brilliant glowing azure that was sprinkled everywhere.

Approaching the edge of the cave where the ground slowly gave way to the water, I let out a deep breath, and dropped to my knees.

Sluggishly, I took off my shoes and repositioned myself so my feet were in the cool water.

The water felt nice.

It was kind of startling because of how cold it seemed, but it helped.

It helped wake me up a bit. Even if my chest was still heavy, the water somehow seemed to help.

Blowing out a small breath from my lips, I sat still for a moment, mumbling to myself, "You know what, if it helps, it helps."

Wanting to feel a little bit better, to feel a little more awake, I decided to just hop in.

And as tired as I felt, I knew it'd be a bad idea to hop in with all of my clothes on since I would have to go through Snowdin again afterward.

Wrapping my fingers around the hem of my sweater and flannel that was on underneath, I pulled the shirts off with one movement. Drawing my feet out of the water, I shimmied out of the pants as I couldn't seem to stand up quite yet.

Starting with my feet, and then slipping in up to my thighs, I began to hesitate because of how cold the water seemed to be.

Instead of over-thinking it, I just hopped right in, pinching my nose as I went fully under before I could think twice.

When I resurfaced, a sharp gasp left my mouth as the coldness surrounded me, and I laughed at how startling it was.

Treading water, I realized that the water really wasn't as cold as I thought it to be, which was pretty surprising with the location being near Snowdin and being underground. If anything though, the water felt more like a pool's water.

Letting out the sigh that had bubbled up in my throat, I leaned back and let myself begin to float.

With the brilliance of the glowing cave, and with how at peace I felt floating in the center of it all, I opted to close my eyes.

I felt at peace.

As at peace as I felt though, I knew that I was going to be so very tired no matter what I did. I also knew that it would be best if I just got home and into bed.

And it'd probably be best if I stopped worrying Sans.

Opening my eyes, I took in the cave one more time, before flipping over and making my way back to shore.

When I was close enough to shore that I was able to stand, I shed my wet undergarments and threw on my striped sweater and pants, using the flannel as a little makeshift bag.

Slipping my shoes back on, I made my way back through Snowdin and to the house.

And I was tired.

So very tired.

I had been relieved of that exhaustion momentarily, but now it was back full force, and it felt like I could barely take five steps forward.

By the time I was on the doorstep to the house, it felt as if all breath had been pressed out of me.

Pushing the door open, I stepped inside the home and immediately slipped my shoes off.

I vaguely noticed that Sans and Liam were sitting in the kitchen having a small discussion, and that their discussion had ceased when I had stepped into the house. I was fully aware when Sans had gotten up and began to make his way to me though.

Dropping the flannel with my wet underthings on the ground, I mumbled, "Tired. Don't."

Forcing my feet to move, I barely made it to the couch before my legs gave out beneath me.

I sat still for a minute, seeing Sans and Liam in my peripheral vision, before I jerked my legs up onto the couch to lay down.

So many simple actions, but so little energy.

"frisk," Sans began, kneeling down beside the couch.

I shook my head, laying down fully and facing the back of the couch.

Lance spoke quietly to Sans, "She needs a little bit of time. Something else happened after she left earlier. I don't know if it had to do with the timeline or—"

There was a sharp inhale, and Sans' voice was low, "timelines? you know about the timelines?"

Several beats of silence.

Liam began to speak slowly, seeming afraid of saying the wrong thing, "You...don't know about—No, you don't remember the timelines."

Sans' breath came out in a sharp exhale, "no, but now that you're the second person who seems shocked by that fact, i'm assumin' that i _should_ know."

Liam faltered at that, but was quick to recover, "It's different this timeline. I don't think any of us were supposed to remember... Has she told you about anything that happened in the last timeline?"

"nothing," Sans let out. After a moment, he began speaking again, "i only know that we were friends or somethin', and that she had met my—someone i knew. and—" Sans cut off uncertainly, before deciding to continue, "i know there was a war. i remember grillby and frisk talkin' about it." With those words leaving Sans' mouth, Liam winced, prompting the skeleton to continue, "you remember though. can you just...elaborate for me?"

Liam's voice was firm, "No." When Sans insisted, Liam's voice raised slightly, "I have a lot of respect for you, Sans, but I have to say that I respect Frisk more. Even if I don't always agree with her decisions; even though I hate her right now. I'm sorry, but my answer is no."

Finally blocking out their conversation, I closed my eyes and willed sleep to overtake me.

My hand reaching up to grasp the necklace Grillby had given me, I ended up flinching in surprise.

Eyes snapping open, I jumped up into sitting position, startling the two other people in the room.

Lifting the necklace up and over my head, I studied the petals in my hand. More specifically, the one that was now a bubblegum pink color and emanating warmth.

"Frisk?"

"frisk, what's wrong? are you okay?"

One for Sans, one for Asriel, and one for Melody.

Sans was blue. Asriel was green.

The name left my mouth in a breathless whisper.

"Melody."

* * *

 **Oh my god, I haven't updated in like two months, I am so so sorry, I feel horrible..**

 **I was trying to write a little each day, but as always, as I've said many times before, I just didn't really have the inspiration.**

 **BUT**

 **Now I'm back, and I am going to try really hard to get chapters out because I don't want to disappoint anyone who reads this even though I literally have no idea why anyone would read this.**

 **Okay, shitty apology over, I am going to begin typing again right now.**

 **Please remember that I love you all immensely, and I love to hear from you.**

 **I literally have no life or friends, so I'm just here all the time and it absolutely makes my day when I hear from any of you. Whether it's a really thoughtful comment or just you telling me about your day or something.**

 **Okay okay, I'm gonna stop bothering you and go now.**

 **Until Next Time, Lovelies~**


	13. Chapter 13: Heart to Heart

Chapter 13: Heart to Heart

"Melody?"

"kid, frisk, are you alright?"

Fiddling with the necklace, I chose to ignore both people in the room. Instead of answering, I elected to gently press down on Melody's flower petal.

As soon as I pressed down on the petal, I inhaled sharply, a mirage beginning to cloud my vision and block everything else out.

And that mirage... that mirage showed Melody.

Melody.

Little, strawberry-blonde haired Melody. With her ageless, blue eyes shining as she stood in a defiant stance.

The little Melody of mine with her sweet little voice and even sweeter hugs and kisses.

That Melody.

She was standing there, thin and frail, eyes darting around in anxiety, but that little girl of mine was standing in rebellion. In defiance.

Sitting there, my gaze unblinking as I held it on my little sister, a strangled gasp escaped from behind my lips. Her wise, sky blue eyes met my teary amber ones.

She was looking at me.

Undoubtedly, actually looking at and _seeing_ me.

And then she was gone. The mirage, the illusion, was done and over with.

The world around me came back into focus, my eyes landing on both Sans and Liam, who were kneeling in front of me. Their faces were grim and worried, both of their intensely concerned voices reaching my ears.

Clutching the necklace tightly in my hand, I forced a smile onto my face, "I'm fine. It was just—It was a dream."

Liam nudged Sans over a bit so he could get closer to me, his eyes darting back and forth between my face and my necklace, "You said your sister's name. You said Melody's name, and when you touched that necklace, something happened. It showed you something, right?" Taking my silence as an answer, Liam rushed on, "Is she in danger? Is she hurt? What's going on?"

I pressed my lips into a tight line, lying down and facing the back of the couch, "I don't have a sister. Not in this life."

Liam furrowed his brow, gray eyes analyzing me, "But you saw something when you touched that necklace. Maybe Melody's not technically your sister in this timeline, but if she's alive then—"

My voice was sharp as I pressed my knees to my chest, "I do not have a sister. _Leave_ _it_ _be_."

Once Liam took the hint and backed off, he took Sans with him back to the kitchen.

With the pair gone, my shoulders started to shake as I pressed a hand against my mouth, tears sliding over the bride of my nose and onto the couch.

I have a sister.

And she's better off without me.

* * *

"Darling, it's been a fun seven months working with you, but I'd quite like to get this over with. Now, it's only right that you have the honors."

Chewing nervously on my bottom lip, my heart violently battered against my chest.

Chara had tried convincing me time and time again that it wasn't worth it to try and bring Gaster back. But I made a promise. I promised both Sans and Gaster that I would do this.

I was filled with Determination.

Smiling, I strode over to the machine, prepared to power it on once Mettaton was ready, "Of course I'll do the honors. I've only put the past seven months of my time into this."

Returning my smile, Mettaton sank down into his seat at the computer, "Just keep in mind that you have to step away and join me once it's powered on. We don't want anything to happen to you, Darling."

Forcing a small laugh, I dug my nails into my thumb, "Of course. You'd have to be crazy to stay anywhere near it."

As Mettaton turned to his computer, I lost my smile. The only sounds I could seem to focus on were the clacking of the computer keys and the pounding of my heart in my chest.

I have to do this.

I can't believe I'm really going to do this.

To some extent, I had done this before. It may have been even more dangerous than the simple thing I was going to be doing today.

Though, the fact that this had happened before, didn't help the fear that had buried itself deep within my chest.

In the past timeline, I hadn't even felt an ounce of fear as I offered up my soul for Asriel. So why was I so scared right now?

Why did tears prick at my eyes as I thought about the worst that could happen to me?

Fear tightened it's iron grip on me, present at all times, making the panic rise up from my chest to my throat.

Was I really going to do this?

"Darling."

Biting my tongue, I forced myself to concentrate.

"Darling, did you hear me?"

Turning my head and looking over my shoulder to Mettaton, I gave a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry, I zoned out a bit. What'd you say?"

Mettaton relaxed, returning my smile, "I just said that I'm ready when you're ready. Nervous, Darling?"

I nodded, biting my tongue as I got my words out, "Just a bit. I really hope it works."

Humming in response, Mettaton turned back to the computer, "Well, please keep in mind, Darling, that this may not work. Okay?"

Clearing my throat, I busied myself with nothing, my reply coming out in a quick breath, "Okay."

Deep breath in.

"Ready."

Deep breath out.

The clacking on the keyboard continued for a few moments more, before it ceased.

Mettaton's voice was controlled, almost business-like, "Ready."

Switching the machine on, I made sure every dial was turned to the exact spot it should have been in. And my feet were glued to the floor as I straightened up.

"Frisk, is something wrong with the machine?"

A tear worked it's way into my eye, my heart clenching in fear, my feet twitching as I resisted the urge to get away from the machine.

"Frisk, Darling, you need to move."

As I saw the sparks begin, I could feel the air become more and more charged with electricity; dangerously charged with electricity. The sparks intensified, turning into one continuous stream of light as the whirring of the machine became more and more frenzied.

"Frisk!" A desperate voice, "Get _away_ from the machine!"

My stomach tied itself into knots, pins and needles making their presence known in my feet.

Coaxing my soul out of my chest, my feet remained in place, even though I wanted to get as far away from the area as possible.

I had to do this.

I was determined to do this.

"Frisk Saunders, you get away from that machine _right_ _now_! I mean it! Darling, _please_!"

Remaining where I was, footsteps sounded behind me within seconds. Panicking, I threw a hand up, and the footsteps stopped immediately.

Looking back at Mettaton, I didn't even register that the robot was struggling to move his body.

My voice came out shaky, "You need to let me do this. This is the only way it will work, and I don't want anything happening to you. You'd be fried in seconds if you entered the electric field this machine has created. So just...let me do this."

Letting my hand drop back to my side, I took a deep breath.

I had to do this.

No matter how scared I felt, and no matter how much my stomach writhed in anticipation, I needed to do this.

I mustered up the little courage I had, hesitating when I thought I was ready. And then I hear the conversation in the background.

Mettaton's voice was low and frantic, "Sans please, you know I wouldn't even think about calling unless it was absolutely necessary." A pause, before Mettaton rushed on, "So don't talk, just listen. Our Frisk here isn't listening to me, and I am _afraid_. I am deeply afraid that she is going to get hurt trying to do this for you, so please, get your ass over here."

Now. I had to do this now.

Pushing past the fear, I sent my soul into the hailstorm of light and electricity, persuading the machine to feed off of my Determination.

Dazed, I watched as the machine seemed to calm down, and begin to work.

Huh.

It was working.

"kid, _stop_!"

Although startling, the new voice didn't make me turn around. If anything, the addition of Sans' voice just made me more determined to finish this.

Pushing myself, I forced myself to give more determination, resulting in my health dipping dangerously low.

I was feeling tired again. I didn't want to keep standing. It was too hard to breathe, let alone keep standing.

But there was something...there.

Something...

Gaster.

The figure that was now standing in front of me, in the middle of the room, in the center of the machine, was W.D. Gaster.

And it wasn't just a shadow, it wasn't a hallucination, and it wasn't just my imagination. It was him.

Gaster was himself again. He was whole. He was existing.

I could stop now.

I could stop.

So I did.

At least...I think I did.

My memory was...spotty. The only thing that I could vividly remember, was getting Gaster back, and then falling into the arms of the darkness. Everything else came in flashes to me, and it was hard to discern the difference between what happened and what didn't happen.

The only known fact that I recalled, was that I was terrified to be the one who used my soul to bring Gaster back into existence. I was so scared to have even thought about risking my life to bring the scientist back. But it seemed to have worked, because Gaster was back and very much in existence.

Now that Gaster was back, and now that my role here had been fulfilled, I could finally stop.

I could stop, and I could breathe.

I could stop, and take a break from everything.

Stop. Breathe. Take a break.

"Her soul appears to be perfectly healthy, and I can't find anything wrong physically. Mentally is...well, that's an entirely different territory. Since all else has been ruled out, I can only conclude that she is depressed. But as I previously stated, mental health is an entirely different area of work for me." Gaster.

Laying there on the couch, I couldn't bring myself to move quite yet.

And facing the back of the couch, I didn't have any view of anyone's faced. I couldn't tell what any of the people in the room could possibly be thinking right now.

"Doc, no offense, but I think you're all out of whack from, you know, _not_ _existing_. Are you sure she's not sick or something? Are we totally sure that her soul hasn't been damaged at all?" Liam.

"hey, kid, watch it. the old man may be a bit out of order, but he's not one to make blind assumptions." Sans.

Liam again. "Look bonesy, you don't know her. Neither of you do. So if you just wanna go fuc—"

"Liam, is it?" Gaster. "I can see the hostility that you have here, and I can see that your hostility is simply great concern for your friend. You may believe that you know this child, but Sans and I have both been in association with Frisk far longer than you have. Both of us are also scientists, and we have studied—"

"Timelines." Liam.

"kid, you can't—" Sans.

Liam again. "Yes, I can, and I _will_. I call timelines. Sure, you may have known her longer than me in this timeline—in this life—but I'm the one who remembers the timelines here. Me and that flame monster. So you guys can _stop_ talking about her like she's gonna be like this forever. Plus, she is right there on the couch. Even if she were depressed, that doesn't mean that she's deaf. And if she were depressed, she wouldn't be acting like this."

"just because we don't remember the—you don't really have the right to be her proxy here, kid. gaster's right, she's depressed. and we never said she would be like this forever. but the fact that it's been about a week and a half now, and that she has barely moved, and hasn't even eaten—"

"Isn't it known that depression doesn't show itself in the same way for everyone? Well that's the case right now, because she has been like this before. She has been depressed. She has been _sad_. She has been _suffering_ so horribly right in front of our eyes. But she would _never_ let us see her like this. So forgive me if I refuse to believe that she would willingly let us see her like this. Especially in front of _you_ , Sans." Liam

A tear dropped from my left eye and onto the couch cushion, leaving the spot a darker shade of green than the rest of the couch.

Slowly, haltingly, I managed to get myself into sitting position.

No one noticed. They were in the kitchen.

Looking down, my eyes focused on my legs, finding that I had no pants on and only a baggy t-shirt that pooled around my thighs.

I wrapped the blanket tightly around me, feeling my cheeks heat up at the fact that I had no pants on, and the fact that I was wearing Sans' t-shirt.

A giggle bubbled up in my throat as I realized that the blanket must have made me look like a nun of sorts, because of how I had wrapped it around me.

With a small smile on my lips, I took a few shaky steps towards the kitchen, wanting to give Liam a big hug for having so much faith in me.

As I stepped into the kitchen, I found that Sans and Gaster were the ones with their backs to me. Liam was on the opposite side of the kitchen, leaning on the counter near the fridge.

Upon seeing my entrance, Liam's eyes widened, and the boy jolted upwards and rushed over.

When Liam was close enough, I reached out and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, having to bend down slightly to rest my chin on his shoulder.

My breath hitching, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, my voice breaking, "I'm sorry I made you hate me. I'll make things better, I promise. I'm so sorry. I wish—"

Pulling back, Liam had me straighten up as he reached up to push the blanket away from my face, "Hey, I don't hate you. I was just mad, okay? If you want to make things better, you should get better."

Looking Liam up and down, I found that I was just a few inches taller than him. A wobbly smile was the result of the discovery.

Clearing my voice, my voice still seemed to shake, "I keep forgetting that you're like, twelve right now."

Liam crossed his arms, grimacing over the fact, "I'm fourteen. Don't worry though, in just two years I'll be taller than you again."

I gave Liam another shaky smile, before taking a breath and turning to Sans.

Actually looking at him instead of looking through him, I could feel my heart swell and tears began to sting painfully in my eyes again.

Before I could move a mere centimeter, Sans took two large steps over to me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close against his chest.

With his arms around me, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt safe with him. But...

He isn't mine.

I'm too young for him.

He isn't mine.

This isn't the same timeline.

He isn't mine. He isn't mine. He isn't mine.

Sans' breath hitched as he hugged my tighter, "kid, you really _really_ can't do shit like this."

Breathing in deeply, I buried my face in Sans' sweater.

He smelled exactly the same.

Snowdin's woods. Grillby's greasy fast-food. Crisp winter air.

 _He isn't mine._

"I—" I couldn't help the shaking of my voice, or the shaking of my hands as I held on tight to Sans, "I know. But I've done it before. I had experience. I'm fine."

Sans took my face in his hands, his cool fingers wiping away my tears, and I finally saw the panic that was still residing within. The hopelessness that he must have felt when I was risking everything for his father. For him.

With the guilt bubbling up inside of me, I no longer had any of the control that I had previously had, and the hot, salty tears came faster and faster.

"don't cry, frisk, please don't cry," Sans pleaded, wiping my tears away as quickly as he could.

A pitiful sob escaped from my lips, urging me to reach a hand up to try and keep it all in.

After I tried to take a few calming breaths, my voice came out too loudly as I cried, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Wrapping his arms around me again, Sans' voice was soothing as he spoke to me, "you're okay kid, it's okay. breathe, just breathe. can you do that for me?"

I buried my face into the crook of his neck, trying my best to control the pathetic shaking of my shoulders, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I'll fix it...I'm sorry..."

"kid," Sans held me closer, "please stop apologizin'. please stop crying. it's over now. please, i hate seeing you cry."

Stepping forward, Liam placed a hand on Sans' shoulder, "Sans, I don't think she's apologizing for the machine incident anymore."

Taking a deep breath, I reluctantly pulled away from Sans, bringing the palm of my hand up to wipe my eyes and cheeks off. Using both hands, I picked up the blanket I had dropped when hugging Sans, throwing it over my shoulders and shutting it tightly again.

With shaking hands, I pushed some of my hair back and out of my face, "I—I'm—Can I go see Grillby?"

Sans managed a small grin, his voice quiet, "sure kid, you can go see grillbs. how about we get some pants for ya first?"

As Sans made his way up the stairs and into his room, a few more tears escaped from my eyes.

Letting the tears fall, I turned to Liam, "Can you come with me? Please?"

He hesitated, but after one long moment, Liam nodded, "Yeah, I'll come with. What about Sans? Do you want Sans to come with?"

I shook my head so quickly that it made me dizzy, "No, this is—I can't—He won't understand."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I could feel exhaustion taking over.

Tired. Again.

So tired.

A deep breath left me as I shook my head, my voice quiet, "Never-mind. I'm just—I need—I just need to get some sleep."

Sans' deep voice was in my ears again, a bony hand on my shoulder, "okay kid, here's some pants. are you gonna want someone to go with you? like this little brat right here?"

Trying to keep myself from leaning into Sans' touch, I shook my head, "Tired." Turning around, I looked up at Sans' surprised face, the words coming slowly, "I'm tired. I'm just gonna take a nap."

Sans managed a weak smile in response, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "okay kid, you do that. ya wanna go lay down in my room? me and the doc have a bit of catchin' up to do, and i don't wanna bother ya with our talkin'."

Taking a small breath, I looked over to Liam, "Come up with me? Please?"

Liam nodded, taking my hand and leading me up the stairs, "Man, are you sure you're sixteen? With the way you're moving, you could be my grandma. Actually, are you sure you're not my grandma in disguise?"

A small snort escaped from me, and I rolled my eyes, momentarily forgetting my exhaustion, "Uh-huh, yeah, I'm definitely your grandma in disguise. I'm a good-looking grandma, ain't I?"

Screwing up his face, Liam shook his head frantically, "Dude, why would I think my grandma is good-looking? Nasty."

My shoulders shook as I laughed, "Okay, just forget I said anything!"

Stepping into Sans' room with Liam, my laughter died down as a small sigh made it past my lips.

While Liam shut the door behind us, I sank down onto the bed, digging my nails into my thumb, "I really am sorry for what I've done. Or for what the other Frisk did? I don't know. All I really know is that I am so _so_ sorry."

Liam crossed the room and sat with me, his gray eyes focusing on my hands, "I told you to stop apologizing and—Dude, you need to stop doing that thing with your nails. You're going to hurt your thumb, and then you'll complain about it." Once I had stopped digging my nails into my skin, Liam continued on gently, "Now, what did you mean by the 'other Frisk'?"

Hoisting up my legs and crossing them took a lot of energy, causing me to take a moment.

Evening my breathing out, I looked down at my legs, "Grillby has been helping me with—Well, I guess I'm not sure what to call it. Grillby has been working with me to try and get it into my head that I'm _not_ the same as I was in the past timeline. that it's like an alternate reality. That I'm an entirely different frisk from the past timeline, even if I _do_ have similar traits. It's...stupid, I know."

Scooting back so his backside was against the wall, Liam laughed, "Okay, that is not stupid. If anything here is stupid, it's me because I'm moping about some girl who obviously has no idea who I am. But really, it's not stupid. I think Grillby is right. Okay, sure, maybe you're still the same in some ways. But you haven't put anybody at risk—other than yourself, but that's another story—and you haven't hidden anything from us. You've been very open with how you feel and you've been pretty open about the past. You obviously feel guilty about what happened. Right?"

Scooting back to sit right beside Liam, my reply came out quietly, "I guess. Yeah."

Liam reached over and gave my hand a small squeeze, "Then Grillby's right. You're different. Better, I think."

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, trying to think of something to say. There was so much to say though.

So much to say, but so hard to explain.

Opening my eyes, I fixed a pathetic glare on the ceiling, my voice coming out heated, "I just think about the past timeline and who I was, and I just—I just feel—I feel so _weak_." Angry tears pricked at my eyes, but I didn't have the energy to wipe them away, "I—She—Whoever that Frisk was, she just seems so much stronger, and I feel so weak compared to her. She didn't let her past affect her daily life, because she dealt with it all and she was _okay_. But I can't even get a plate from the cupboard without having a panic attack, because it feels too similar to something that happened in my kitchen?"

Liam frowned, scooting closer to me, "Frisk, you're—"

My gaze fixed onto the ceiling, my words came out as a mess, "And she dealt with it all by herself. She didn't tell anyone anything; she didn't burden anyone and she dealt with it all and she was okay. She _willingly_ went back to her parents, after everything they did to her, and she didn't even bat an eye. But I can't think of—I can't—And I'm in tears and calling for help? She went to an alternate universe and then came back, and went on as if nothing happened? She did all of these things and it was like she had no fear. But I'm constantly scared and can't even handle bringing someone back from the void, let alone—"

Liam's hands found my face, forcing me to look at him, his voice firm, "Listen here Saunders, that Frisk you're talking about? _She_ was the weak one. She was _not_ okay. Compared to that selfish bitch, you should feel a _thousand_ times stronger than her. She stuffed all of her feeling down; she didn't want to feel, because she wouldn't be able to handle it all. You? You feel so intensely and you _embrace_ it. That's strong."

"But she—" I managed to choke out.

Liam cut me off, keeping eye contact with me, "She was a coward. She hid from us; she never showed us who she really was, not even at the very end. She was willing to sacrifice others just to get her way, never trying to think of a different alternative and putting some effort into it. That girl from the past timeline? She could never begin to be even a fraction of the person you are now."

"But," I began, hesitant at first, "But she did so much to help everyone, and she did it the only way she knew how. And facing her parents—"

Liam's tone became more gentle, but he remained firm in his beliefs, "She just didn't want to work hard for her 'goal'. And facing her parents? _Stupid_. She never healed from what they did to her, and instead of taking a step away and refusing to work with them, she went back to them and set an entire _mess_ of things into motion. Maybe she went back because it was the only thing she knew would be a constant in her life, and she knew what would happen with them; that timeline was unpredictable because she would re-do things and then deliberately mess them all up. But you?"

I looked down at my hands, feeling my cheeks begin to burn, "What?"

After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Liam began softly, "From what I've heard from Sans, you've come a long way. He didn't give me many details, but he did explain the severity of the issue, and gave an example involving one specific instance; how you couldn't bear to have your hair a certain length because of something your father did. And from what I gather, you couldn't even take two steps forward without having and anxiety or panic attack. But now? You can cut your hair without hyperventilating, and you can go days—weeks even—without having any attacks. Your nightmares are beginning to thin out too. Do you know what that means?"

Shaking my head, I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them, "No. I don't know what that means."

Liam gave me a smile, grabbing my hand again and giving it a bigger squeeze, "You're _healing_. You are mending from what they did to you, and you are overcoming all of these obstacles that they've set in your way. And that, Saunders, is one of the strongest things I can think of doing."

I chewed on my bottom lip, doubt lurking in my mind, "I guess."

Liam pinched my arm, making me yelp and look back up at him, "No, no 'I guess'. It is one of the strongest things. Plus, you have the knowledge of how many timelines? And you're tearing yourself up over it all. And the fact that the love of your life is downstairs, but he doesn't remember you at all? You are strong. You just don't see it."

For a moment, I began to believe Liam. And then I came to my senses, crossing my arms and shaking my head vigorously.

My voice came out stronger than before as I spoke to the boy next to me, "I am _not_ strong. If anyone here is strong, then it's you. God knows how many years you spent in that compound with those people, and then to top it off, I came along. Maybe I got you out of there, but then I put you through hell. I started a fucking war for christ's sake, and then I reset the timeline completely and took everything back to the beginning. So now you're back here, having gone through hell up on the Surface as well, from what I gather. And the girl _you_ love doesn't remember you and you're not even there to see if she's okay. Like I said, you went through literal hell."

Liam pinched my arm again, making me yelp. Again.

The boy gave me a small, sheepish smile, but soon turned serious, "I know I can't force you to accept the fact that you're already a stronger, better person than the past Frisk, but I want you to work on it. You need to work on it. You really need to work on not belittling yourself and thinking less of yourself, because I want you to be better than her; I want you to be better for you."

I gave Liam a small smile, before resting my head on my knees again, and closing my eyes.

Energy just...didn't seem to come to me anymore.

"So," Liam started, almost nervously, "I didn't want to bring this up, but I think it's something that we need to talk about." Liam took a small breath, before quickly blurting out, "Do you still have your powers? From your time as a Mage?"

Dropping my knees down, I sat up straighter, "I don't know. And I want to keep it that way."

Liam sat up straighter as well, gray eyes questioning me, "But if we still have our powers, then maybe we can use them to break the barrier and free the Monsters. Isn't that what the whole point was last time? Free Monster-kind and integrate them into society?"

I chewed on my lip for a second, before pressing my lips into a thin line, "No, we're not—I—If I have my powers, I am _not_ going to use them. I—She used them to hurt others. I don't want to be in possession of something like that. And...And we're happy down here."

Liam persisted, his voice almost pleading, "But we need to free the Monsters, Frisk. We need to go back up on the Surface and—"

"No!" I threw my hands up to my ears, trying to block out what Liam was saying.

Liam wouldn't stop talking, continuing, "They are _dying_ down here, Frisk. They haven't seen the stars in _centuries_ , and I don't think Sans or Papyrus have seen the stars at all. None of them breathe fresh air, or seen the sunsets, or—"

I screamed at the boy, my voice breaking, "I'm not going to use the same thing that turned me into an _abomination_ last time; I'm not doing that again!"

Stumbling off of the bed, I wrapped my blanket tighter around me as I stood and tried to breathe properly again, closing my eyes to try and stop the tears that had rushed to my eyes after my outburst.

Liam got off of the bed and crossed over to comfort me, but the door creaked open at that moment.

"liam, can ya leave so me and the kid can talk? you can make yourself at home on the couch."

Sighing, Liam started to leave, "Sure thing. I'm just gonna go ahead and sleep, since it's so late already. Night."

With the door shutting behind him, Sans took my hand in his and led me back over to the bed, having me lie down for the night.

The skeleton shrugged off his sweater, settling in next to me, "we don't have to talk. i heard the yelling. i just told the kid that i wanted to talk so he would leave ya be. you should sleep though. you just seem tired to the _bone_."

With the sudden pun, I couldn't help but snort very loudly, which was startling, and was met with laughter from both myself and the skeleton beside me.

Sans' deep voice sounded again, amused, "geez kid, if i knew the puns were the key to your laughter, i woulda been spittin' em out at every opportunity. please, no insults though, they kinda get _under my skin_." Earning another fit of laughter, the skeleton's grin widened, "i know kid, being this _humerus_ is just a curse. but we can't deny that i'm a _sansational_ hit!"

Trying not to snort again, I tried to keep my laughter from bubbling up, "Shut up Sans, your puns are no good!"

Even though he was feigning hurt, Sans' grin gave him away, "god kid, that one really hurt me _down to the bone_. i got a _skele-ton_ more puns though, and you're the lucky kid who gets to hear em. just kiddin', i know you can _see right through me_ ; i'm just a _bonely_ skeleton who wants to share his puns with ya."

This time, I couldn't help but snort at the puns, my ugly laughter filling up the room as my sides began to hurt.

As soon as I could stop laughing, I turned to look at the skeleton with his big silly grin, "No more puns! They make me laugh way too hard!"

Chuckling, Sans turned onto his side a bit more, "that's the point kid, it makes ya laugh! laughter and happiness are a good look for ya."

I closed my eyes, smiling as I went through memories of the past timeline, "Yeah, well, laughter and happiness looks good on you too."

Sans shifted onto his back beside me, looking up at the ceiling, "ya know, the doc had a lot of good things to say about you. said you'd been visitin' him in the void." Sans was silent, before softly adding, "thank you."

I glanced over at the skeleton, before looking up to the ceiling as well, "You don't need to thank me. I'd do anything for my best friend."

The skeleton sighed, silence taking over momentarily, before his voice came out quietly, "kid, i don't expect you to talk to me and spill everything right away, but it'd be nice if ya just talked to me even a little bit. maybe just one little heart-to-heart."

My small smile vanished completely, and my stomach tied itself up in knots, making me feel a bit queasy as I chewed on my bottom lip.

In the silence, my shaking voice seemed too loud, "The Frisk from the last timeline wasn't...a very nice person. I—She—Whoever the last Frisk was...she was bad. Maybe even evil in a way. And the things that happened because of that Frisk, made me hate her. And I'm scared that if I tell you..." Hot tears pricked at my eyes, and my voice broke, "I'm scared that you'll hate me too."

Sans' expression fell, and he reached over to rest his hand on my cheek, "kid, i could never hate you. you're like my little sister; i could never hate ya."

At the mention of being like a little sister, I furiously wiped my tears away, breathing shakily.

This hurt. This hurt so _bad_ to know what we felt, and how it wasn't that way anymore.

 _Remember_ , a voice whispered, _it's just a crush_.

Tears dripped onto the pillow underneath me as I looked up at the ceiling once more.

"I was seventeen when my little sister and I fell into the Underground."

* * *

 **Ah, so Frisk is finally opening up to Sans about the past timeline!**

 **Hello my lovely readers! I've been feeling a bit more inspired lately, so I'm hoping I'll be able to begin a normal uploading schedule. To do that, I'll start on the next chapters immediately.**

 **I really hope you're all enjoying the story! I know it's a bit rough and can probably be so much better, but this will have to do for now.**

 **I sincerely hope you're all doing well and in the best of health, and that you continue to do well. And if you're currently not doing well, I hope things brighten up for you in the future.**

 **Until Next Time Lovelies~**


	14. Chapter 14: The Stars' Tale

Chapter 14: The Stars' Tale

Speaking to Sans about the past timeline had gone...slowly.

Painfully.

Painfully slow.

There were several times where I had to stop. Just stop, and take a breath.

Sans had been supportive and attentive throughout the entirety of the story; it had taken all night. And although I could feel him tense up beside me, or even slip up and make a face in disgust, Sans never stopped being supportive as I told my story.

No sunlight filtered through the window since it was always dark down here, but the glaring red of the alarm clock showed that it was nearing 7:15 AM.

I waited quietly, my anxiety growing as the silence stretched on. I was terrified of what Sans would think about me; I had told him everything about the past timeline. Everything I had done.

The lives I had taken.

The lives I destroyed.

I took turns chewing on my top and bottom lip, breath hitching whenever I tried to ask Sans if he despised me yet.

It felt like I had been waiting for an answer for hours, the feeling in my stomach getting worse with each passing second. But the alarm clock only read 7:30 AM, meaning it had only been fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes too long.

"...kid..."

I stopped breathing altogether, my heart jumping to my throat, "Yes?"

Sans sat up in bed, his expression hidden from my sight, "kid..."

Sitting up with him, I hid my shaking hands in my lap, not brave enough to look at the skeleton just yet, "Yeah?"

The skeleton's hands reached for mine, gripping them tightly, "frisk. look at me?"

With a shaky exhale, I met Sans' eyes with blurry vision.

Disgust.

Fear.

That's what I believed to be the only thing Sans would feel when he looked at me.

Love.

Understanding.

Hurt.

That's what I found.

"frisk," the skeleton began, quietly, "why are you crying?"

I held tightly onto Sans' hands, afraid he might get up and hurry away in disgust, "Do you hate me?"

Sans' expression fell even further, tears welling up in the skeleton's eye sockets, "no, no kid, i don't hate you. i—" Sans took a breath, tears falling as he closed his eyes, "i'm just glad you're safe, and that you're here with me... i can't even begin to imagine how painful it must've been to go through all of that."

A laugh bubbled up in my throat, sounding foreign when it made it past my lips. I put a hand up to my mouth, trying to keep any other laughs from coming up, my voice muffled, "I was so scared that you would hate me. I've done horrible, unforgivable things; I was ready to lose the one who's the most important person to me in the world."

Cool hands connected with my burning skin as they wiped my tears, the skeleton's voice coming out thickly, "you're not going to lose me, kid. you'll never lose me."

.

.

 _"Papyrus—"_

 _The building shook as the bombs whistled down from above our heads, striking the surrounding areas. When the building began to crumble around us, we lunged up and out of the nearest window, landing safely on the ground, before we had to take off running again._

 _Taking shelter in an abandoned deli shop, I breathed heavily, energy coursing through me. Once I was calmer, I turned to find an attentive and waiting Papyrus, ready to listen to what I was going to say._

 _Now stolid, I readjusted my weapons belt, "You need to leave. I need you to take the remaining prisoners and get them to the Underground. Take everyone else with you. The Dreemurs, Alphys and Undyne, Mettaton, your brother, the kids—Take everyone with you and leave. When everyone's in the Underground, you need to seal yourselves in."_

 _Papyrus' eyes widened in horror, before he vigorously shook his head, "No! I can't—"_

 _I pulled Papyrus closer, voice low and rough, "Goddammit Paps, just do as I say!" Seeing Papyrus' grim expression, my voice softened, "Look, it—I'm the one who got us into this mess; I'm going to be the one who gets us out. Just make sure everyone's safe and you guys get sealed in. If things go our way, then I'll see you soon... Okay?"_

 _Orange tinted tears pricked at the skeleton's eyes, before he gave a slight nod, "I'll be seeing you soon then."_

 _Forcing a painful smile, I reached out and held Papyrus' hand, trying to ignore the gunfire that was getting closer and closer, "Tell them I'll be right behind you all. If they ask, I'm just helping some unfortunate citizens. I don't care what else you tell them, as long as you guys get to the Underground safely. Got it?"_

 _"Got it."_

 _I took a deep breath, my face beginning to contort with pain as I said goodbye, "Okay. Just... take care of everyone while I'm gone. Okay?" Once Papyrus nodded, I yanked him into a quick hug, "Stay safe you knucklehead. Love ya."_

 _Papyrus returned my bone-crushing hug, before pulling away and heading off, leaving me on my own._

 _Taking a deep breath, I steeled my nerves as I made my way toward the gunfire and the screams that were just up ahead. Working fast, I used my magic to teleport to an alleyway near the fighting._

 _Peering around the crumbling brick, I found Undyne and her troops on their knees, the enemy approaching from behind to shoot each person as they kneeled helplessly._

 _Fury fueled my attack, my magic sending the enemies flying into the air, before being mercilessly slammed into the ground._

 _When she saw me running out from around the corner, Undyne grimaced, "You shouldn't even be on the front lines, you're—"_

 _Helping Undyne to her feet, I spoke quickly, "I told the others to retreat, and you need to catch up with them. Make sure everyone knows that I'll head over as soon as I know that none of our people are left behind."_

 _Undyne's grim expression lightened with some relief, the fish woman patting my shoulder, "Good. I know I talked about it all the time, but I'm tired of fighting now." Undyne gathered up her troops, glancing my way with a sort of smile, "Try not to take too long you little punk."_

 _As soon as Undyne was out of sight, I continued on, helping any remaining soldiers who were trapped or injured. When I was sure that no one else was left behind, I continued into the heart of the city. Where the Ambassadors had taken shelter._

 _Forcing my way through the city, decimating the enemy's forces, things became way too easy._

 _I felt the slightest twinge of regret inside as I continued on, killing countless soldiers. The blood I spilled, the people I was killing...all of it was almost too much._

 _Almost._

 _Rounding a corner, weapon in hand, I skidded to a halt, exhaling sharply as I saw someone I had never wanted to see on the battlefield._

 _My voice broke as I spoke, weapons disappearing instantly, "Sans, what are—What the hell are you doing here?!"_

 _Giving me a grim smile, Sans took my hand in his, "i knew that your story was bullshit once paps told me. now, what's the dealio? what's the plan?"_

 _I opened my mouth to speak, before having to duck down as gunfire rang out behind us. Forced to teleport to safety, we crouched down on top of the building we had arrived on, my eyes scanning the area._

 _Turning to Sans, I told him what I currently knew, "They have it heavily guarded on both the left and right sides, but they haven't had anything down the middle or diagonally. I think they've lain traps down throughout the center, but if they don't actually believe that we'll take that route, then...maybe it's worth a shot. So, what do you say; one last adventure together as partners in crime?"_

 _Grinning, Sans gave me a quick peck on the cheek, "'course. let's get going, shall we?"_

 _Carrying out our hastily put together plan, things quickly went wrong._

 _We had managed to get two-thirds of the way through the route without drawing any attention, but that was before gunfire reverberated behind us, narrowly missing our bodies._

 _Using our magic as a back-up plan, we had continued on in a zigzag pattern. And then it happened._

 _Stopping in my tracks, in the middle of a hailstorm of gunfire, I looked to Sans, my heart dropping as I saw that he had been hit._

 _Although he tried, Sans couldn't manage to hide his injuries from me._

 _Chuckling weakly, Sans fell to a knee, blood quickly drenching his shirt, "wow. ain't this a bloody hell?"_

 _A shield flew up around us, the gunfire unable to reach as I fell to my knees in front of Sans, trying to heal him with my magic._

 _When my magic would barely even make a dent in Sans' injury, I screamed in frustration, before taking a shaky breath, "You are going to be fine, okay? I just need to— I can—"_

 _Placing a weak hand on top of mine, Sans cracked a small smile, "hey, hey, it's okay. it's okay, frisk. you can let me go. you need to let me go."_

 _Shaking my head vigorously, my tears burned my cheeks, my voice breaking, "No, no Sans, don't say that, don't you fucking say that."_

 _Even when he was fading and crumbling into dust right in front of me, the smile on Sans' face was genuine, "hey, we've gotten so much more time together than we ever thought we would. we went from loving each other, to hating each other, to loving each other again."_

 _"But it wasn't enough! I want more time," I whimpered._

 _The crumbling skeleton kissed my hand, giving me his brightest smile, "frisk, i love you so much. i have to go now though, and i need you to let me go. your magic won't work, and you couldn't carry me if you tried. just let me go. it's okay."_

 _As the skeleton let out a shaky exhale, the entirety of his body collectively dropped into dust._

 _With trembling hands, I desperately tried to put him back together, "No, no, nononono, Sans, please, please don't leave me. I lost my sister, please don't make me lose you too. Sans? Sans!"_

 _Witnessing the death of the love of my life...I could feel something shift._

 _Something snapped._

 _Slowly, smoothly standing up, I lowered the shield that had been surrounding us. And with a snap of my fingers, that bullets that had been mere centimeters away from me were now frozen in the air. Everything was completely silent._

 _Looking around, I found the soldiers who had fired upon us, and I smiled._

 _"You just killed the last person I loved."_

 _Tears welling up in my eyes, I could only laugh and laugh._

 _"Now I have nothing to lose."_

.

.

Burying my face in my hands, I managed to choke out a reply, "But I _did_ lose you."

Sans' grip on my hands tightened almost painfully, "kid—"

Looking up at the skeleton's distressed expression, I tried and failed to keep my own features from contorting in ugly pain.

Pulling my hands away from Sans', my voice came out thickly, before becoming heated as I got further into my sentence, "I lost you. I lost you to that damned war, and then I lost you to the timeline reset, and none of it would have happened if I would have just—"

Sans' voice was quiet, his hand finding mine again, "if you would have just what? died?"

I let Sans hold my hand as I buried my face into my other hand, my shoulders beginning to shake again. I felt too aware of everything now. Uncomfortably aware. The tears dripping onto my thighs before rolling off, the way my hair stuck to my cheeks, the way my eyes burned, the painful ache deep in my heart.

Gaining back some of my composure, my voice came out small and pathetic, "If I _stayed_ dead."

Sans sighed, closing his eyes as if he were in pain, "no, kid, no. you said yourself that no one ever really healed from losin' ya."

As my eyes scanned over Sans, I could feel the guilt begin to creep up the back of my neck.

I had told him about everything, and now I was even more damaged in his eyes.

Copying Sans, I closed my eyes as well, a small smile working its way onto my face.

As painful as it had been to retell the tale of my past life, it felt...good. It felt good to get it all out. It made me feel just a little bit better.

I took in a deep, shaky breath, before slowly letting it out.

My lips turned up into the smallest smile as I gave Sans' hand a slight squeeze, "Hey, I'm sorry. You're right. About everything."

Startled by the sudden calm, Sans' eyes widened, "you—wait, what?"

Looking down at our hands, I rubbed my thumb over the top of Sans' hand, but stopped because it felt oddly too intimate. Squeezing Sans' hand slightly, I sighed, "You're right. I—Everything is in the past now, so I really shouldn't dwell on it. Maybe—I think I just needed to get it out of my system. Say it all out loud and move on."

Sans gave me a small, hesitant smile, "wow kiddo, so grown up of ya."

I returned Sans' small smile, "Yeah. We both know that I'm not going to heal overnight, but now that I've told you about everything, I think I'm...getting better." Rubbing my already raw eyes, I dropped onto my back again, my voice quiet, "Thank you."

The skeleton laid down next to me again, his hand finding mine and giving it a comforting squeeze, "kid, there's no need to thank me. i'm just glad you trusted me with all of this."

I scooted closer to Sans, wrapping my arms around the skeleton as he re-positioned his arm so it was acting as a pillow for my head.

Breathing in deeply, I ignored the tears that didn't seem to want to leave my eyes, "I've always trusted you with stuff like this. You're my best friend."

The skeleton hummed in response, his cool, boney arms wrapping around me as well.

We stayed like that for a while.

And although my eyelids kept drooping downwards, I crept out of the room as soon as Sans' snores reached my ears.

With the stairs creaking loudly under my feet, Liam's gray eyes landed on me immediately.

Throwing his feet off of the couch, Liam made room for me to sit, "Morning. Sleep well?"

Chewing on my bottom lip, I shook my head, plopping down next to the boy, "I didn't sleep. I—I—I told Sans. About the past timeline."

Liam shot up on the couch, his words coming out in an exhale, "No shit?" Finding that I was completely serious, Liam sat up straighter, gray eyes analyzing me, "How did he take it?"

Rubbing at my eyes, I brought my knees up to my chest, "He took it well, I think. He doesn't hate me, so it went a lot better than I thought it would."

Giving me the most comforting smile he could muster, Liam got up and crossed over to the kitchen, "I'll make tea or whatever the hell it is people do when talking about shit like this." His voice traveled through the house, the sound of cupboards opening and closing, "So, how'd he react to your guys' relationship?"

A blush creeping up on my cheeks, I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, "He didn't react..."

Liam came out of the kitchen, bringing two mugs out with him, "Damn. Maybe he didn't know how to react. Anyways, tea needs to steep, and it's also really hot. The microwave nukes everything."

Taking the mug from Liam, I held it tight in my hand, even though it burned.

My voice came out quietly as Liam sat down, "Sans didn't react...because I didn't tell him."

Liam frowned, turning his body to face me, "You didn't tell him?"

Shaking my head, I stared straight ahead at the wall, "No. He's my best friend, and I think we just work better that way. The last time I told him about my feelings for him...things were just a mess."

Noticing my fidgeting, Liam shrugged, "I mean, I guess. Things were definitely a huge mess when you _didn't_ tell him though. But if you don't want to tell him, that's fine. Just talk to me if you need to talk about it at all—the relationship, the feelings, any of it."

Curious, I glanced over at the boy, "You're not gonna try and nag me into telling him? And you're not going to tell me how dumb it is not to tell him?"

Liam shrugged again, slouching as he sipped at his tea, "You already told him about pretty much the entirety of the last timeline. If you don't want to tell him about your guys' relationship in that past timeline, then that's fine." Liam went silent for a moment, before quietly adding, "I know it's hard. Reliving it. Having those memories. So we just won't tell him anything you don't want to tell him about. Problem solved."

Smiling softly, I relaxed, "Okay. Problem solved." My gaze landing on the black TV screen, I pushed my hair out of my eyes, "We probably need therapy."

Liam shrugged, sipping more of his tea.

I couldn't help but smile, leaning back into the couch, "Man, we're really fucked up."

"Yep," Liam snorted, popping the P in 'yep'.

* * *

"no no no, that can't be how it works."

Laughing, I frantically nodded, "It is! That's exactly how it works!"

Sans shook with laughter, passing the ketchup to me, "okay kid, whatever you say."

I stuck my tongue out at the skeleton, making sure the ketchup cap was screwed on tight before using it on my burger.

I opened my mouth to say something in retaliation to Sans' remark, but stopped short when I felt a tug on the bottom of my sweater.

Swiveling around on the bar-stool, I looked down to find Monster Kid, the little Scarf Mouse, and the orange horned kid.

Smiling, I greeted the trio, "Heya. What are you all up to?"

Monster Kid glanced up nervously, before his eyes darted back to the ground, "Hi Frisk. We—" Swallowing thickly, Monster Kid avoided eye contact, "We've heard that you've been to the Surface before, and we just wanted to...know more about it?"

Sucking in a small breath, my smile deflated a bit, "Um, okay, how about we take a trip to Waterfall? How does that sound to you guys?" As the kids lit up, I turned to Sans with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry to ditch you, but adventure awaits us kids. See you later?"

Sans hesitated, before offering his iconic grin, "'course kid, no need to sweat about it. just don't get back home too late."

With Sans' words, I turned and followed the small group of kids out of the restaurant and into Snowdin's cool winter air.

Soon, the crunch of the snow under our feet turned into the rustling of grass, our footsteps the only noise in the silence.

When the quiet trio finally came to a stop, we had arrived at a small corner hidden away behind some echo flowers in Waterfall.

Flattening the grass as sat, I offered a small smile to the kids, my voice coming out uncertainly, "So, um, what's up? What do you guys want to know? About the Surface, I guess?"

Anonymouse looked at the other two kids, before glancing over to me, "Everything. Please."

Biting my bottom lip, I raked my mind for anything this group of kids would want to know, trying to find something interesting. Glancing up at the ceiling of the Cavern the Underground was located in, my eye caught the small sparkling gems that served as stars down here. As I looked upwards at those gems, something clicked.

Looking back down to the kids, I started quietly, "Have you ever heard about the real stars?"

One of the kids glanced up at the gems in the ceiling, before quickly shaking her head.

As the kids leaned in closer, I began explaining, "Well, real stars are very high up in the sky, and they're made of very hot gas and are squished into a ball by their own gravity."

Monster Kid piped up, stars seeming to be in his own eyes, "How do they stay in the sky though? Can they fall?"

Smiling, I leaned back on my hands, "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you...but I guess I can make an exception for you little rascals. Okay, listen up because I'm going to tell you the story behind the stars."

The small group of kids looked at each other in excitement, sharing hushed whispers before gazing at me intently.

Clearing my throat, I quietly began the tale, "Long, long ago, when the Earth was first born, there was no light. There was no sun, and so there was no light. It was completely dark. Pitch black, even. And because it was so dark and cold, not a single soul wanted to visit the Earth to keep her company. So not only was it dark and cold, but it was also so very lonely."

Anonymouse interrupted, his squeaks quiet, "Is this going to be a sad story?"

I couldn't help but smile and shrug, before I continued on, "The Earth was very lonely, until one day, someone saw the Earth's misery. But who was it that saw the Earth's loneliness? Why, it was the Archangel Raphael! The Archangel Raphael was a very creative soul, and regarded every living creature with kindness and reverence. So when Raphael saw the Earth's pain, he set his feet upon her land and kept her company so she wouldn't be all alone. Raphael and the Earth talked for hours upon hours, until at the end of the day, Raphael left to tend to his other duties."

Harley, the orange one that looked like a dummy, frowned, "What was so important that he had to leave the Earth all by herself? That's just not fair!"

MK shushed the girl, before he turned his attention back to me, "We're sorry, continue please."

I blew air out from between my lips, finding my place in the story, "So he left at the end of the day, but he promised the Earth something. Do you know what he promised her? Raphael promised the Earth that he would come back each day to keep her company, no matter what. And he kept that promise; he visited the Earth each and every day."

Anonymouse spoke up again, his voice revealing his yearning to hear the end of the story, "But he still left every day right? Did they just do that forever and ever? Does he still visit the Earth?"

I did my best to keep a smile off of my lips as I shrugged, trying not to give away the ending, "He visited her every day, but he still had to leave at the end of each day. Raphael was so heartbroken at the thought of leaving his beloved friend all alone in the darkness, and he wondered why someone so wonderful had to go through that pain and loneliness. So, Raphael spent several days and several nights trying to find some sort of solution so his beloved Earth wouldn't feel as lonely when he left. And when he finally came up with something, he spent several more days and nights trying to perfect his gift for his friend."

MK jumped up to his feet in excitement, voice coming out in a rush, "He made stars for the Earth! Right?"

Clearing my throat, I sat up straighter, "After spending so much time on making the perfect gift for his friend, Raphael finally felt satisfied with his work and was ready to gift it to the Earth. Instead of leaving after saying goodbye to the Earth, Raphael whisper something to the Earth—no one has ever figured out what he said—before rising into the sky, and throwing his arms out wide. As Raphael threw his arms out, millions upon _millions_ of stars flew out and decorated the darkness with their sparkling radiance!"

Harley squealed in approval, falling onto her back as she grinned widely.

Laughing at the reaction, I began to wrap up the story, "And so when Raphael had to leave for the day, or if he had to leave for days on end, the Earth always had the stars to keep her company and remind her that she wasn't alone. And now that there was light in her sky, people began to flock in and make their homes on her land, ensuring that she would always have company no matter what."

MK's smile deflated, his voice quiet as he spoke, "Does that mean that Raphael doesn't visit the Earth anymore? Because she's not alone now?"

Giving the trio a reassuring smile, I shook my head, "No, Raphael still visits. He could never leave his beloved friend behind. In fact, there's something that we call a shooting star on the Surface. Many people think it's just a falling star or a meteor, but it's not. Whenever there's a shooting star, that's just Raphael coming down to visit the Earth. So the reason we have the beautiful, sparkling stars on the Surface, is because Raphael didn't want the Earth to be lonely."

MK sucked in a deep breath, before jumping up and beginning to run in the other direction, calling for the other two kids, "C'mon you guys! We _have_ to tell everyone else about this!"

As the kids ran off, soon disappearing out of sight, I let out a quiet sigh before falling onto my back.

Closing my eyes, I could have fallen asleep listening to the trickling of the water.

When the rustling of grass and echo flowers came to my attention, I popped an eye open, seeing a yellow that I hadn't seen since my first day down here.

Letting my eyes fall shut again, my voice was soft, "Hey Flowey. Were you the one who told those kids that I had been on the Surface?"

A scoff sounded from my left, "Why would I tell you? And whatever you're doing down here, _it won't work_. The Underground is _mine_."

Smiling, I sat up and pulled my knees up to my chest as I looked at the flower, "No. The Underground isn't yours; no one down here is yours to toy with either."

Flowey flashed a dangerous smile, a demented look beginning, "You took that ability away from me, didn't you?"

Ignoring his question, I met his Flowey's eyes, tone gentle, "It doesn't have to be 'kill or be killed'. Chara was hurting, and she wanted to take that out on her village. You've taken on that view of the world after everything that's happened, but I just want you to know that it doesn't have to be like that. It doesn't have to be 'kill or be killed'."

The flower seemed to wither at the mention of Chara, but sprang straight up in seconds, sneering at me.

"Shut up. Shut up! You don't know anything!" Flowey barked out in anger.

Shrugging, I lied down again, shutting my eyes, "Okay. Maybe you're right."

As Flowey went silent, Chara's voice rang out, sharp and cold, "What in hell's name are you doing? You don't get to talk about me to him; never talk about us unless you know _exactly_ what we went through."

Ignoring the spirit, I looked over at the flower again, "One thing I do know, is that Chara wanted to attack; you didn't. And when you died, and your dust spread on that flower, and you came back, you began to adapt to that look on life. And I realize that you've had this outlook for quite some time, but I just want you to know that there's another way to living your life. There's a better way. You are better than this, Asriel."

The flower seemed to hiss at me, before quickly popping out of sight.

As soon as he left, Chara's venom-filled voice sounded out, "I don't know _where_ you get off thinking that you can talk about Asriel and I's past, but this is—"

Lying back down, my gaze was set upon the gems that served as stars down here, "You and Asriel need help. You guys need to talk about this stuff. I'm the only one who can talk to you guys, which means I'm the only one who can try and help. And I'm not going to lie, but it's going to hurt to talk about some things."

Chara scoffed, pacing at my feet, "You're gonna be little miss 'psychiatrist' when you can't even help _yourself_? That's hilarious."

Closing my eyes, I shrugged, "We can all help ourselves when we're strong enough. I think. But we also need help to get to that point of helping ourselves."

Sputtering from the spirit could be heard, before she went silent.

When Chara spoke again, she was on my left, "I'll only take your help if Azzy does."

Sighing, I kept my eyes closed, "Okay."

After I had laid still for more than five minutes, Chara piped up, "Uh, Frisk, are we going back to the house?"

"Nah," I mumbled, "I wanna stay here for little bit more."

With the silence that came, I stopped paying much attention to anything else.

* * *

My eyebrows furrowed as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, trying to wake myself up more.

Sitting up, I cradled my head in my hands, the headache overwhelming me after waking up so soon.

Looking around, I tried to find some outside light to let me know what time of day it was, before I remembered that I wasn't on the Surface.

Smoothing out my hair, my voice came out in a yawn, "Chara, do you know what time it is?"

The ghost girl shook her head, watching me get up, "Nope. You slept for forever though, so it's definitely past 1:00. Shouldn't be as late as dinner time though, so little ol' Sansy shouldn't bitch about anything."

I cracked a smile at the girl's comment, before I got up to start the short walk back home.

Looking at my feet, I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking of the reaction MK and his friends had when I told them about the stars.

Hesitantly, I got the words out, "Am I being selfish?"

Chara trailed behind me, her humming being cut off, "What do you mean? Being selfish by taking a long nap?"

I shook my head, eyes glancing up to the ceiling of the cavern, "No. Am I being selfish by staying down here? I mean—In the last timeline, no one really said anything about going to the Surface. Actually, the kind of stopped me from breaking the barrier. But it's different now."

Chara fiddled with her hands, before sighing, "I don't think you should be asking me about it. I jumped to escape."

Rubbing my eyes, tears of frustration began to make an entrance, "I can't ask anyone else about it though. Not mom, not Grillby, and definitely not Sans."

Chara frowned, walking backwards in front of me, "Why? They're the ones who would know more about how everyone feels."

"They'll all sugarcoat it and avoid answering. 'If you're happy, we're happy', 'We have you, and that's all that matters'," I huffed to the spirit. In the silence that followed, I mumbled one more thing before we got inside the house, "Maybe Liam would say something, but from what I can see, he also came here to escape."

Setting foot into the house, I was met with the sight of Papyrus bustling about in the kitchen as he made dinner, and Sans fast asleep on the couch.

Smiling at the sight, I slipped my shoes off and crossed over to the kitchen, tucking my hair behind my ears.

I announced my arrival with a knock on the kitchen door frame, my voice coming out quietly, "Hey Paps, do you need any help?"

Papyrus turned with a wide smile, shoving a pot into my hands, "Human, you came at the perfect time! I need you to fill this with water and boil it, please and thank you!"

Smiling, I took the pot that had been handed to me, turning to begin filling it with water.

The pot was a considerable size, meaning once it was full, I had to use all of my strength to lift it out of the sink and carry it over to the stove.

A yank on my hair, "Hey—"

A strangled gasp left my mouth, my hands releasing the pot as I reached up for the back of my head.

At the same time as I reached for my head, my other hand also extended to try and catch the falling pot.

With the water spilling out and onto the floor, I froze. I couldn't move even if I desperately wanted to.

Silence filling the kitchen, Sans' heavy footsteps were the only sound in the house as he came running into the kitchen.

Concern filled the skeleton's voice, "what happened, is everyone okay? frisk, what's—" Sans cut himself off, his gaze landing on the pot that had frozen midair.

My initial shock transformed into horror at the sight in front of me. Yanking my hand back, the rose pink aura disappeared as I clutched my hand to my chest, the pot coming to a rattling stop on the floor.

In the silence that came, my shaky breathing resounded within the room.

Liam finally let his hand drop, his voice gentle, "Frisk—"

Ignoring the boy, I strode over to the door, hiding my shaking hands in my sweater sleeves.

Liam's voice sounded behind me, less gentle, and more excited, "Frisk, we—"

"No."

I won't. I can't. I'll hurt them.

When no one made a move, I stepped out of Snowdin, not bothering to grab anything; not even my shoes.

With the door shutting behind me, I balled my hands up into fists, burying them in the fabric of my sweater.

My voice came out as a breathless whisper.

" _No_."

* * *

 **Oh my god you guys, so much has happened since I last updated or even wrote at all.**

 **I got kicked out of a group for being Pan, school has started up again, I actually grew a backbone and I've stopped tolerating bullshit...Like I said, a lot has happened since last time.**

 **That being said, I am again, so sorry for taking another month(two months? what even is time?) to update. Now that school has started up again though, my stress levels are off the charts and I'll be typing even more to let that stress out! Yay**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and you'll see me again the next time I update!**

 **Until Next Time Lovelies~**


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